Yes, you should consider the genus Rhoptropella, Ph. ocellata was moved to
this recently I think, may have been switched back though. I would like to
read your paper too if I am able to. I do agree that breviceps and
mutabilis
are unique.
Yeah. Rhoptropella was installed by Loveridge, who did feel P. ocellata
looked too much like a Phelsuma. When describing the genus wowever, he
choose to compare Rhoptropella with Phelsuma laticauda, which is BTWone of
the most 'opposite' species of Phelsuma to use. Smart guy. He might be able
to reason klemmeri into a new genus by comparing it with say
madagascariensis..
An other fascinating group is the
Tarentola/Pachydactylus/Ptenopus/Chondrodactylus group. These geckoes
really
resemble eachother to me. Perhaps I am wrong i calling them a group, but
certainly a relationship exists, maybe with more genera like Rhoptropus,
Quendenfeltia, Ptyodactylus and Gekkonia.
Geckonia is a highly modified Tarentola, but I would have no problem
including it in the genus.. Several of the genuses you mention here share an
interesting feature in the sceleton of the feet (I have to look up the
details, but it was an extra or a missing phalanx in one of the digits..).
They also have a rather similar scalation of the chin (my wooden
riding-horse...if this expression translates a bit). Tarentola and Geckonia
both have two rows of enlarged chinscales with the front one of the first
penetrating the second row. Very typical.
Peter Mudde
Hoofdredactie 'onder het Palmblad'
see : www.palmblad.com
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Aan: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Datum: woensdag 7 maart 2001 0:23
Onderwerp: Re: [Gecko] Lygodactylus, and gecko phylogeny
Yes, you should consider the genus Rhoptropella, Ph. ocellata was moved to
this recently I think, may have been switched back though. I would like to
read your paper too if I am able to. I do agree that breviceps and
mutabilis
are unique.
An other fascinating group is the
Tarentola/Pachydactylus/Ptenopus/Chondrodactylus group. These geckoes
really
resemble eachother to me. Perhaps I am wrong i calling them a group, but
certainly a relationship exists, maybe with more genera like Rhoptropus,
Quendenfeltia, Ptyodactylus and Gekkonia.
Well, Tarentola is one well traveled genus. As far as the Cuba for sure.
It
is believed a species evolved in Jamaica but it (albertschawrtzi) is known
from a single museum specimen collected a century(?) ago.
Several crossings were made to the Canary and Cape Verde Island groups and
if
T. albertschawrtzi is indeed a Jamaican native, then 2 crossings were made
from africa to the caribean. T. americana is not related to any of the
other
Island species and does not seem to have crossed from the aforemention
islands to cuba.
This info is from
Carranza, S., Arnold, E. Nicholas; Mateo, J. A. and L. F. López-Jurado 2000
Long-distance colonization and radiation in gekkonid lizards, Tarentola
(Reptilia: Gekkonidae), revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences.
Proc. R. Soc. London B 267: 637-649
--Daniel
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