The animal depicted in Neil's photo cannot be Crossobamon orientalis. The
tail ends more abruptly, whereas Crossobamon have long whip-like tails.
Beverly hinted on something that is very important concerning
Stenodactylus, and that is the very fact that some species like S.
sthenodactylus and S. petrii occur in such vast expanses of deserts that
there is a considerable amount of variation, and perhaps impending new
species. Both species occur in the Sahara in a belt that is wider than the
US. Surely, some will not look like the others. As Daniel mentioned, I
have two distinct forms of Stenodactylus that both key out to petrii. But
the interesting difference is that one form is 200% the size of the
commonly recognized form. Crossobamon, while related, is quite a different
animal altogether.
I've mentioned it before, and will mention it again, the genera
Stenodactylus and Ptyodactylus are nowhere near complete, in fact more or
less in shambles. Both of them range through such countries as Libya,
Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Any interested
gecko taxonomist who longs to travel through each of these countries
gathering comparative material runs an immensely high risk of ending up in
a crock of couscous or tajine. It does not take a rocket (-er gecko)
scientist to tell you that. Some countries are safe, whereas others are a
disaster. Regardless of ANY person's nationality, some of these countries
will greet you with open arms, while the others with 'jihad' and swords.
The safest countries being Egypt and Morocco for Americans. The last time
I was in Morocco, I remember standing in a desolate town in the far south
and having flash backs of seeing Dan Rather or somebody give live coverage,
as there were countless tanks, jeeps, and other military vehicles rumbling
right through town with soldiers brandishing their weapons and screaming
and chatting hoarsely. The answer to this "activity" was that we were
within 20 miles of a civil war ground (Morocco fighting over territorial
disputes - seems all Muslim nations love fighting over where one country
ends and the other begins). Something like this can sure raise the hair on
your neck. Oh well, I'd traveled to far to let 100 tanks, some crazy
desert-rat fanatics, and a few hundred automatic weapons curb my interest
of finding different populations of Geckonia! JIHAD yourself, I'm looking
for helmeteds!!
Bismillah,
Jon
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2001 2:25 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Gecko] ID Stenodactylus
Yep, its Crossobamon orientalis, the most picky gecko I have ever
encountered. They are commonly called St. doriae but this species comes
from a very poorly collected region. They still are cool, so darn picky
though.
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