A Taxonomic Re-Evaluation of Goniurosaurus hainanensis (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Hainan Island, China

Christopher Blair, Nikolai L. Orlov, Hai-tao Shi, Robert W. Murphy

Abstract


Previous examination of morphological characters for Goniurosaurus hainanensis yielded incomplete results due to a relatively small sample size (n = 4). Therefore, we re-examined previously used scale counts for the species utilizing a significantly larger sample size of 24 individuals in addition to analyzing morphometric data for the species. Our results yielded significant differences in several scale counts previously described, which we attribute to the high degree of morphological variability of lizards in the genus. No sexual size dimorphism was found for any morphometric character, although males had slightly higher values than females for most characters. Future molecular work is needed if we are to better understand the taxonomy and evolutionary history of the genus.

Keywords


Hainan; gecko; morphology; morphometrics; taxonomy

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2009-16-1-35-40

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