Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis spanius, Thomas & Schwartz, 1966

Daza, Juan D., Pinto, Brendan J., Thomas, Richard, Herrera-Martinez, Alexandra, Scantlebury, Daniel P., Padilla García, Luis F., Balaraman, Rajesh P., Perry, Gad & Gamble, Tony, 2019, The sprightly little sphaerodactyl: Systematics and biogeography of the Puerto Rican dwarf geckos Sphaerodactylus (Gekkota, Sphaerodactylidae), Zootaxa 4712 (2), pp. 151-201 : 171-172

Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis spanius comb. nov. Thomas & Schwartz, 1966

Figures 22–23

Holotype — MCZ R-81047

Type locality: “ 17.7 km NE Utuado (~ about 8 km airline), 1100 feet, Puerto Rico.”

Diagnosis: SVL Min/Max (14.68/ 35.68 mm); midbody scales 41–47 (x̅ 43.6); males with elevated number of escutcheon scales (~95); ten toe lamellae on the fourth toe; males with marked lineated head pattern; males with marked reticular pattern; scapular patch reduced to a midcentral rectangle, and ocelli located on the periphery of the patch; scapular patch in contact with nuchal spots ( Padilla 2006).

Color in life ( Fig. 22 ): Female: ground color light brown to straw, head and tail orange to light gray, head pattern well defined, medial lines separated and parallel, ocelli color white, or sometimes gray ( Thomas & Schwartz 1966). Male ground color light brown, head and tail orange. Iris color yellow, green, brown, copper, or golden.

Distribution: Uplands of the Cordillera Central and the Sierra of Cayey from 335 m to 850 m. Thomas & Schwartz (1966) report some intergrades with S. g. mimetes near Aibonito.

Figures

FIGURE 22. Live specimens of Sphaerodactylus g. spanius. A, female from Toro Negro, Puerto Rico. B, male from Divisoria, Puerto Rico.

FIGURE 23. Adult specimens of Sphaerodactylus g. spanius from Maricao, Puerto Rico. A–B, Female (SHSUHerp000790), C–D male (SHSUHerp000791).