''Hemidactylus coalescens'' is a species of
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from .
Geckos are unique among lizards ...
s belonging to the family
Gekkonidae
Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...
. It occurs in
Central Africa
Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
This species is locally common in rainforest regions of Central Africa, from southern Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
through Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
to the Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
.[
]
Description
''Hemidactylus coalescens'' can reach a snout–vent length
Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...
of and a total length of . These medium-sized species has a more elongated head and three enlarged internasal scales
In snakes, the internasal scales are those on top of the head between the scales that surround the nostrils. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. (7 ...
. Body shows a few dark crossbands with white spots and pale brown interspaces with white spots. The first crossband is restricted to the neck. On the sides of the brown head there is a fine narrow dark stripe reaching the eyes.[
]
References
Further reading
*Mboumba, Jean-François. "A new lizard species for Gabon, Ichnotropis bivittata Bocage, 1866 (Squamata, Lacertidae)."
*Leaché, Adam D., et al. "Species delimitation using genome-wide SNP data." Systematic Biology 63.4 (2014): 534–542.
External links
*
Hemidactylus
Geckos of Africa
Reptiles of Cameroon
Reptiles of Gabon
Reptiles of the Republic of the Congo
Reptiles described in 2014
Taxa named by Philipp Wagner
{{Hemidactylus-stub