Hello Beverly,
Tuesday, April 24, 2001, 2:47:11 PM, you wrote:
BE> But..but...the Fauna of Saudi Arabia Vol 2 article you referred me to a
BE> while back uses 1 vs 3 subdigital lamellae to distinguish S.sthenodactylus
BE> from S.petrii, in the dichotomous key, even!
I should have qualified that the number of subdigital lamellae should
not be the only criteria used to differentiate S. petrii from all
other geckos, just Crossobamon orientalis. Physically, the two species
are VERY similar looking and that is a sure fire way to tell the
difference. It is quite coincidental that that trait can also
differentiate S.petrii from S.sthenodactylus. The easiest way to tell
those two apart, aside from the fat-tail vs. skinny tail, is that most
S.petrii have 3 rows of cloacal tubercules (occasionally 2 but
not often), while S.sthenodactylus usually has only one row (again,
sometimes two but not a lot). I have found that the position
of the nostril with the rostrals and first labials (as mentioned in
Schultz, Kastle, and Kabisch's book) can be tough and is not always
easy to distinguish.
Also, keep in mind that S.sthenodactylus has serrated subdigital
lamellae that can superficially look like three scale rows. You gotta get
that gecko right up there close to spot that one.
BE> How do you view these things on a tiny live gecko with thread thin toes
BE> when you are of an age for bifocals, anyway? :-)
Very gently. Sometimes, with really small critters or squirrely geckos
(maybe a new name for S.sthenodactylus?;) you can put them in a clear
deli cup and look from underneath.
--
Best regards,
Tony mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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