Lygodactylus thomensis (Peters, 1881)

Sánchez-Vialas, Alberto, Calvo-Revuelta, Marta & Riva, Ignacio De La, 2022, Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea, Zootaxa 5202 (1), pp. 1-197 : 43

Lygodactylus thomensis (Peters, 1881)

Scalabotes thomensis Peters, 1881: 795 . Type locality: Rolas Islet , St. Thomé.

Lygodactylus thomensis (Peters, 1881) : Boulenger, 1885: 161.

Lygodactylus rolasi Greef, 1885: 48 (nomen substitutum pro Lygodactylus thomensis ).

Lygodactylus thomensis delicatus Pasteur, 1962: 608 . Type locality: “Ile du Prince”.

Lygodactylus thomensis wermuthi Pasteur, 1962: 610 . Type locality: “ Annobon ”.

Distribution. This species is distributed in the oceanic islands of the Gulf of Guinea: São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobon. In Equatorial Guinea it occurs only in Annobon ( Boulenger 1906; Jesus et al. 2003; Ceríaco et al. 2018), where it has been particularly recorded from the north-east shore of the Apot Lake ( Rodríguez-Prieto et al. 2010), the northern part of the island and “Pueblo” ( Boulenger 1906), and the west coast ( Rodríguez-Prieto et al. 2010) ( Map 10B ).

Comments. The populations from Annobon belong to the endemic subspecies L. thomensis wermuthi Pasteur, 1962 , which is treated with full species status by some authors ( Ceríaco et al. 2022). Phylogenetic relationships between the three different subspecies of L. thomensis are provided by Jesus et al. (2006). The population from Annobon is closely related to the populations from Príncipe ( L. thomensis delicatus Pasteur, 1962 ), and both taxonomic units are sister to the nominal subspecies from São Tomé. In Annobon, Jesus et al. (2003) found this species exclusively in forests, where it seems to have a patchy distribution. Lygodactylus thomensis wermuthi has been found foraging on trunks, branches and on the floor, both in dry and wet forests ( Rodríguez-Prieto et al. 2010). Egg-laying in Annobon has been reported in November within nests of solitary wasps, and the eggs of this species have a diameter of 6 mm ( Rodríguez-Prieto et al. 2010).

Specimens examined. Thirteen specimens. Annobon Island (=Pagalu), (1959?) (MNCN 23714–23724). Without specific locality (MNCN 46132–46133).

Figures

MAPS 10 A–C. Distribution maps for Equatorial Guinean records of (A) Lygodactylus fischeri; (B) Lygodactylus thomensis; (C) Lacertaspis gemmiventris.