A New Genus of Miniaturized and Pug-Nosed Gecko from South America (Sphaerodactylidae: Gekkota)

Authors

Tony Gamble, Marquette UniversityFollow
Juan D. Daza, Villanova UniversityFollow
Guarino R. Colli, Universidade de BrasíliaFollow
Laurie J. Vitt, University of Oklahoma
Aaron M. Bauer, Villanova UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

12-2011

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Source Publication

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Source ISSN

0024-4082

Abstract

Sphaerodactyl geckos comprise five genera distributed across Central and South America and the Caribbean. We estimated phylogenetic relationships among sphaerodactyl genera using both separate and combined analyses of seven nuclear genes. Relationships among genera were incongruent at different loci and phylogenies were characterized by short, in some cases zero-length, internal branches and poor phylogenetic support at most nodes. We recovered a polyphyletic Coleodactylus, with Coleodactylus amazonicus being deeply divergent from the remaining Coleodactylus species sampled. The C. amazonicus lineage possessed unique codon deletions in the genes PTPN₁₂ and RBMX while the remaining Coleodactylus species had unique codon deletions in RAG₁. Topology tests could not reject a monophyletic Coleodactylus, but we show that short internal branch lengths decreased the accuracy of topology tests because there were not enough data along these short branches to support one phylogenetic hypothesis over another. Morphological data corroborated results of the molecular phylogeny, with Coleodactylus exhibiting substantial morphological heterogeneity. We identified a suite of unique craniofacial features that differentiate C. amazonicus not only from other Coleodactylus species, but also from all other geckos. We describe this novel sphaerodactyl lineage as a new genus, Chatogekko gen. nov. We present a detailed osteology of Chatogekko, characterizing osteological correlates of miniaturization that provide a framework for future studies in sphaerodactyl systematics and biology.

Comments

Accepted version. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 163, No. 4 (December 2011) : 1244-1266. DOI. © 2011 Oxford University Press. Used with permission.

Tony Gamble was affiliated with University of Minnesota, Minneapolis at the time of publication.

Recommended Citation

Gamble, Tony; Daza, Juan D.; Colli, Guarino R.; Vitt, Laurie J.; and Bauer, Aaron M., "A New Genus of Miniaturized and Pug-Nosed Gecko from South America (Sphaerodactylidae: Gekkota)" (2011). Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 757.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/757