''Paroedura guibeae'', Guibé's ground gecko, is a species of

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in 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 ...

. The species was formerly synonymized with ''

Paroedura bastardi Mocquard's Madagascar ground gecko (''Paroedura bastardi'') is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family ''Gekkonidae''. It is a moderately-sized reptile reaching just over in snout–vent length. The species is Endemism, endemic to s ...

'', but a study in 2021 found that it represents a separate species within the

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. It is endemic to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Taxonomy

''Paroedura guibeae'' was initially described in 1974, with the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

being an adult male collected 10 km south of

Betroka Betroka is a hilly city (commune urbaine) in the Anosy Region in southern Madagascar, and is the source of the Onilahy River. It is situated at the Route nationale 13 (Madagascar), Route nationale 13, Ihosy to Tolagnaro, at 118 km from Ihosy, ...

on 14 June 1953. Although Nussbaum and Raxworthy synonymized the species with the Mocquard's Madagascar ground gecko (''P. bastardi'') in 2000, an integrative revision of the ''P. bastardi'' species complex in 2021 found that ''P. guibeae'' represents a morphologically and genetically distinct species, and thus the taxon name was resurrected. It has been found that at least four mitochondrial lineages are contained within ''P. guibeae'', of which two have been considered to be distinct candidate species. Taxonomic assessment of the ''P. guibeae'' clade is thus required to clarify their species status. Within the ''P. bastardi'' species complex, the ''P. guibeae'' lineage from Tranoroa has been recovered as the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to '' Paroedura manongavato''. The following

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

shows the position of ''P. guibeae'' among its closest relatives according to Piccoli ''et al.'' (2023): In 2004, the specific name was changed by Michels and Bauer to ''guibei'', as the species was named after Mr. (not Ms.) Jean Guibé. However, Miralles ''et al.'' (2021) criticized the use of the species name ''P. guibei'', as this emendation is incorrect from a nomenclatural perspective according to the articles of the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...

. Under this reasoning, ''guibei'' has no valid use and the original spelling ''guibeae'' does not need to be emended.

Distribution and habitat

This reptile is one of many species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the island nation of Madagascar, and has been observed in several localities in the southern region of the country. It is reported to mostly occur on the surfaces of rocks near canyon entrances in open

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s. While Guibé's ground gecko is known to occur syntopically with the related '' Paroedura rennerae'' at least in one site (Zahavola in

Isalo Isalo is a rural municipality in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Miandrivazo, which is a part of Menabe Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 12,930 in 2009. Only Primary schooling is available. The ...

), the latter species has a preference for more humid microhabitats.

Description

Guibé's ground gecko is a moderately-sized species, reaching a maximum

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 6 cm. Although the initial description of this species stated the nostrils are in contact with the

rostral Rostral may refer to: Anatomy * Rostral (anatomical term), situated toward the oral or nasal region * Rostral bone, in ceratopsian dinosaurs * Rostral organ, of certain fish * Rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other sca ...

and first labial scales, later examination of the type material found this to be false and that the rostral scale is actually separated from the nostrils by prenasals. Enlarged,

keeled scales Keeled Scales is an independent record label based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2014 by musicians Tony Presley (Real Live Tigers) and Seth Whaland (Literature, Tres Oui). The label has released over 60 albums from artists such as Buck Mee ...

are present on the dorsum (including on the dorsal surfaces of the limbs), arranged in regular longitudinal rows. The digits end with

posteriorly Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

-tapering toe pads about twice as wide as the rest of the digit, each with a claw that is visible when seen from below. This lizard is mostly light tan in color, with slightly darker reticulated patterning. Banded patterning is present on the digits of this species, a feature absent in the related Mocquard's Madagascar ground gecko and '' Paroedura rennerae''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107092863 Paroedura Geckos of Africa Reptiles of Madagascar Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles described in 1974 Taxa named by James R. Dixon