Afroedura waterbergensis, Jacobsen, Niels H. G., Kuhn, Arianna L., Jackman, Todd R. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2014

Jacobsen, Niels H. G., Kuhn, Arianna L., Jackman, Todd R. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2014, A phylogenetic analysis of the southern African gecko genus Afroedura Loveridge (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with the description of nine new species from Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa, Zootaxa 3846 (4), pp. 451-501 : 488-490

Afroedura waterbergensis sp. nov.

( Fig. 11 A)

Afroedura langi 'Waterberg' Jacobsen 1990, 1992a, 1997

Holotype. TM 81266, adult female, Farm Waterval 601LQ, 23°53' S, 27°39' E, Waterberg District (2327DC), Limpopo Province, collectors N. H. G. Jacobsen & R. E. Newbery, 20 January 1987.

Paratypes. TM 81267, 81269, 81273, Farm Fancy 556LQ, Waterberg District, Limpopo Province (2327DC), collectors N. H. G. Jacobsen & R. E. Newbery, 22 January 1987. TM 81268, 81270, Farm Fourieskloof 557LQ, Waterberg District, Limpopo Province (2327DC), collector R. E. Newbery, 26 September 1979; TM 81271–81272, same data as for holotype.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Waterberg massif, Limpopo Province, to which the species is endemic.

Diagnosis. A small Afroedura (maximum SVL 46 mm) differing from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: two pairs of enlarged subdigital lamellae per digit; tail moderately verticillate (semiverticillate) and flattened near base, with four subcaudal rows and 7 supracaudal rows per verticil; dorsal scales smooth, 92–99 scale rows at midbody; internasal scales absent; 4–7 precloacal pores in males.

Description. (based on holotype TM 81266) Adult female, SVL 44.0 mm; TailL 53.0 mm; mass before preservation 2.2 g. A small to medium-sized, dorsoventrally depressed gecko. Head oval, neck thick, almost as wide as head. Rostral approximately 2.5 times wider than high; nostril pierced between rostral, first supralabial and three nasals; nasorostrals large and in contact behind rostral. Scales on snout rounded but not flattened, decreasing in size posteriorly to crown of head; 9–10 granular scales between nasals and eye and 18 from eye to ear; 3–4 supraciliary spines; supralabials 11. Mental longer than broad and not wedge-shaped; postmentals two; infralabials nine.

Dorsal scales smooth, juxtaposed, uniform and rounded, becoming larger and oblique laterally. Midbody scales in 101 rows. Ventral scales hexagonal to rounded, smooth and juxtaposed. Hindlimbs robust, feet moderately enlarged. Digits with two pairs of enlarged scansors and 4th toe with six enlarged inferomedian scales. Precloacal pores absent. Tail semi-verticillate, flattened and tapered, constricted at base and widening at the beginning of the first verticil. Caudal scales arranged in verticils with seven dorsal and four ventral rows. Supracaudals subimbricate, more or less square with a rounded posterior margin; subcaudals imbricate wider than or as wide as long. Two postcloacal spurs on either side of tail base.

Color. Brown to pale brown above with 6–7 wavy dark brown to blackish crossbands extending from the occiput to the sacrum. Posterior margin of crossbands darker and with white spots in indentations. A vertebral row of white spots is most pronounced. Crown of head marbled with dark brown and a dark brown stripe extending from the nostril through the eye, merging into the occipital crossbar. Limbs striped with dark brown, with interstices spotted and a reticulate pattern on the thighs. Venter white to whitish pink. Tail with seven crossbands at regular intervals. Underside of tail brown with incomplete pale crossbars.

Variation. Paratypes and other specimens agree with the holotype in most features of scalation ( Table 4). Scales from eye to ear 16–18. Mental in some specimens only as long as wide. Supralabials 8–11. Infralabials 7–9. Midbody scale rows 92–99. Eight enlarged inferomedian scales under 4th toe in TM 81272. Precloacal pores in males in continuous series of 4–7. 0–3 postcloacal spurs on either side of tail base. Original tails 50.0–56.4% of total length. Supracaudal scales in 6–7 (rarely 8) rows per tail whorl. 33% of specimens have regenerated tails (n=6).

Distribution. Endemic to the western Waterberg massif, Limpopo Province ( Fig. 6 ).

Natural history. Afroedura waterbergensis sp. nov. is a rupicolous gecko found in crevices between rocks on rocky outcrops and cliff faces of Waterberg sandstone. It inhabits both vertical and horizontal dry crevices. It has only been observed in Waterberg Mountain Bushveld (SVcb 17) ( Mucina & Rutherford 2006) at an elevation of 1000 m a.s.l.

Remarks. Afroedura waterbergensis sp. nov. is the westernmost member of its genus in Limpopo Province. It may be more widespread along the Waterberg than the current records indicate. It is a member of the A. langi complex and may be easily distinguished from all other members of this clade on the basis of its low number of precloacal pores (see Table 4).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Map of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa and adjacent regions showing the distributions of previously described species of Afroedura endemic to this region and known localities of the nine new species described in this paper. For previously recognized forms an approximate outline of the range based on Bates et al. (2014) is shown; genetically sampled localities are marked by circles in Figure 4. For new species all known localities are plotted as dots (see relevant species accounts), with genetically sampled site marked by circles with a a red center, type locality marked by a star, and all other localities indicated by open circles colored to correspond to the key in the figure. The very restricted distributions of A. maripi sp. nov., A. rondavelica sp. nov., and A. rupestris sp. nov. are indicated by arrows and are labeled directly on the map.

FIGURE 11. New species in the Afroedura langi group. (A) Afroedura waterbergensis sp. nov. from Farm Fancy, Limpopo Province, South Africa (Photo Marius Burger). (B) Afroedura pienaari sp. nov. from northern Kruger National Park, Limpopo Province, South Africa (Photo N. H. G. Jacobsen). (C). Afroedura pienaari sp. nov. from Farm Bristol, Waterpoort, Limpopo Province, South Africa (Photo N. H. G. Jacobsen).