Uroplatus fetsy, Ratsoavina & Scherz & Tolley & Raseli- Manana & Glaw & Vences, 2019

Ratsoavina, Fanomezana M., Scherz, Mark D., Tolley, Krystal A., Raseli- Manana, Achille P., Glaw, Frank & Vences, Miguel, 2019, A new species of Uroplatus (Gekkonidae) from Ankarana National Park Madagascar, of remarkably high genetic divergence, Zootaxa 4683 (1), pp. 84-96 : 88-93

Uroplatus fetsy sp. nov.

Remarks. This species was reported as Uroplatus ebenaui [Ca5] by Ratsoavina et al. (2013). The earliest records of geckos of the U. ebenaui group in Ankarana, probably referring to this species, were provided by Bloxam & Barlow (1987) and Hawkins et al. (1990). A photograph of two specimens from Ankarana (reproduced here in Figs. 4 f–g) is shown in Böhme & Henkel (1995).

Holotype. ZSM 288 /2004 (field number FGZC 0552 ), an adult female collected near Mahamasina in the Ankarana National Park forest, Région Diana, northern Madagascar with the GPS coordinates 12.9683°S, 49.1392°E, ca. 100 m a.s.l. in the evening of 25 February 2004, by F. Glaw, M. Puente, and R. Randrianiaina.

Paratype. UADBA-R 70849 (field number MSZC 0577 ) , an adult female collected along the road in the Ankarana National Park forest , Région Diana, northern Madagascar with the GPS coordinates 12.96217°S, 049.13316°E, 133 m a.s.l. at 21h52 on 10 January 2018, by M.D. Scherz, J.H. Razafindraibe, and A. Razafimanantsoa .

Diagnosis. Uroplatus fetsy sp. nov. is assigned to the Uroplatus ebenaui group based on its relatively small size, leaf-like, laterally-compressed body shape, short tail, and triangular head with supraocular spines. The new species is characterized by the following unique combination of characters: (1) adult female body size of 55.2–56.1 mm (n = 2), (2) short (TAL/SVL 0.40–0.41) fairly slender (TAW/SVL 0.15–0.27) tail, (3) oral mucosa black on the roof of the mouth and base of the tongue and reddish laterally with a pink tongue, and (4) relatively smooth skin with few spines. Additionally, it is distinguished by uncorrected pairwise distances of>18% in the 16S gene to all other nominal and candidate new species of Uroplatus .

By its leaf-like overall appearance and short tail, the species can easily be distinguished from all members of the U. fimbriatus species group, from U. lineatus , and from the phenetic U. alluaudi species group. Within the U. ebenaui species group, U. fetsy sp. nov. may be distinguished from U. finaritra and U. malama by much smaller body size (SVL 55.2–56.1 mm vs. 77.5–95.3 mm); from U. malama , U. phantasticus , U. finiavana , and U. finaritra by shorter tail (TAL/SVL 0.40–0.41 vs. 0.48–0.76); from U. fiera , U. fotsivava and U. finiavana by the color of the oral mucosa (black and red components vs. pale pinkish all over); From U. finaritra by the presence of black in the oral mucosa (vs. dark red all over); from U. fotsivava , U. ebenaui , and U. finiavana by the possession of fewer spines on the limbs and on the back of the head; From U. kelirambo by more rounded tail edges (vs. strongly spearshaped); and from U. ebenaui , its putative closest relative, by a differently colored oral mucosa (black on the roof of the mouth and base of the tongue and reddish laterally vs. black all over except the pink tongue; Fig. 5 ). The new species might differ from U. ebenaui by a slightly longer tail, despite overlapping values of relative tail length (TAL/SVL 0.40–0.41 vs. 0.22–0.40).

Description of the holotype. Adult female in moderately good condition ( Fig. 6 ) though quite soft in the abdomen; the tail has come off in preservative but is stored alongside the specimen; a tissue sample was taken from the tip of the tongue. SVL 56.1 mm, tail length 22.7 mm, maximum tail width 3.3 mm, for further measurements see Table 1 . Head triangular in dorsal view; canthus rostralis distinct and concave; snout sloping moderately strongly downwards anteriorly; snout weakly depressed, short (6.7 mm, 1.4 times longer than eye diameter); eyes large (eye diameter 4.7 mm), bulging slightly above the dorsal surface of the cranium, directed laterally, pupil vertical with crenate borders; ear opening very small (horizontal diameter 0.8 mm), ear opening facing posteroventrolaterally (clearly visible in ventral view but not in dorsal view); nostrils laterally oriented; body comparatively round, without lateral dermal fringes; limbs without fringes or spines except on a small flap on the knee and one on the elbow; very distinct round depressed axillary pits present; forelimb almost reaches the nostril when adpressed forward along body and midbody when adpressed backwards along body (forelimb length/axilla–groin distance 22.8/ 27.9 mm = 82%), hindlimbs cannot be adpressed forward because they are too strongly fixed, but estimated to reach the axilla; original tail length 40% of snout–vent length, membranous borders of the tail symmetrical, without any emarginations, small and leaf-shaped, with a thin, borderless spatulate tip. Toes bear small claws, with the distal phalange not much wider than the rest of the digit; the third finger bears 5 lamellae, the third toe 5 lamellae.

Nares separated from each other by at least 10 small granular scales, from the first supralabial by 2 scales, and from the rostral scale by 3 scales; first supralabial slightly taller than the others; rostral entire, much wider than tall; mental scale very small, not differentiated from infralabial scales; 24/26 (right/left) supralabials and 24/24 infralabials as defined in methods, above; no enlarged postmental scales or chin shields; dorsal and ventral scales of head, neck, body, limbs, and tail small, granular, juxtaposed and largely of uniform size, except on the posterior ventral abdomen, where they are slightly larger than on the rest of the body, and arranged almost uniformly. Two weakly distinct curved lines of only marginally enlarged scales extend from the posterolateral parts of the head (nuchal region) to converge on the neck and form an indistinct V-shaped pattern (neck triangular line). A similar, more distinct, fairly straight line (also formed by a row of marginally enlarged scales) is present between the eyes and connects the supraocular spines. The body possesses very few dermal spines: a prominent pointed supraocular spine, two diminutive spines at the posterior angle of the head, and one very small spine either side of the vent visible in dorsal but not ventral aspect.

Coloration of the holotype. After fourteen years in 70% ethanol, the color is faded. The dorsal coloration of the specimen is a mixture of beige and tan, with more tan on the dorsal head and midbody, and more beige on the anterior dorsum, lateral arms, and dorsal legs. A network of fine lines of contrasting color is weakly present on the dorsum, with the most distinct of these lines running between the supraocular spines. Either side of the base of the tail, dark brown markings are present, but the tail itself is the same beige color of the light areas of the dorsum, without a medial line. The outer surfaces of the legs and arms are darker in color than the thighs and upper arms. The triangular marking at the posterior of the head formed by dark lines converging from the angle of the jaw onto the vertebral line is indistinct. The ventral body is cream, with scales of gray to brown forming maculations on the abdomen, as well as a median line on the throat, and a series of curved lines on the chin. The ventral tail is unremarkable, being light brown without patterns. The tongue in preservative is cream, and the oral mucosa is visibly dark, but the jaw is too stiff to assess the state without damaging the specimen.

In life, the coloration was much as it is in preservative. Areas at the base of the tail were more distinctly brown than they have become, but otherwise the coloration remains largely unchanged, although faded. The oral mucosa was black at the back of the roof of the mouth and reddish either side of the base of the tongue; the coloration of the base of the tongue was not captured in our photographs ( Fig. 4a inset). The iris was silver.

Variation. The two type specimens and the tissue voucher ZCMV 12147 (specimen not collected) were all females. So far, a single male, probably assignable to this species, is known from photographs by J. Ganzhorn, reproduced in Fig. 4 f–g. The identity of this specimen is not verifiable, but it is probable that it is U. fetsy based on the location. If so, U. fetsy conforms to the other members of the U. ebenaui complex in the sexual dimorphism of tail edges, with females having complete tail edges and males having emarginated edges.

The female paratype UADBA-R 70849 (MSZC 0577) strongly resembles the holotype ( Fig. 4 ). The number of scales between the nares is 9–10, from the naris to the first supralabial is 1–2, and from the naris to the rostral scale is 2–3. It has slightly fewer infralabials (23/22 left/right) than the holotype (24/24). Both type specimens as well as the other photographed individuals have rather few dermal spines.

In coloration, the other photographed individuals differ from the holotype in being darker brown and more uniform in color, and also in having more reddish iris coloration (see Fig. 4 ). Photos made of the mouths of specimens ZCMV 12147 and UADBA-R 70849 (MSZC 0577) clearly show black coloration on the posterior palate and base of the tongue, red coloration on either sides toward the back of the mouth, and a cream or whitish area near the throat (insets of Fig. 4d and Fig. 4e ).

Distribution and conservation status. This species is only known from Ankarana National Park, at elevations of ca. 100–140 m a.s.l. The park encloses an area of 182 km 2. Due to the potential rapid decrease in quality of the forests and the area around it due to illicit deforestation, anthropogenic fire, sapphire mining and free-ranging grazing of livestock ( Hawkins et al. 1990), we propose that Uroplatus fetsy should be listed as either Near Threatened or Endangered under the IUCN criteria ( IUCN 2012), similar to other Ankarana endemics.

Natural History. Very little is known of the ecology of the new species. Specimens were encountered active at night on thin branches and vines less than two meters above the ground. The species is apparently rare, especially in contrast to the syntopic U. henkeli [Ca11]—over seven visits to Ankarana between 2003 and 2016, we saw only four specimens. Separate visits to the park by A. Razafimanantsoa also yielded only a small number of sightings (personal communication to the authors).

Etymology. Fetsy is a Malagasy word meaning ‘sly’, in reference to the rarity with which this species is encountered, evading researchers for a long time despite the substantial number of research expeditions conducted in Ankarana National Park, as well as its sly ‘smile’. The species epithet is used as an invariable noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Specimens of Uroplatus fetsy sp. nov. (a–b), female holotype ZSM 288/2004 (FGZC 552), collected in 2004; (c–d) female ZCMV 12147, caught in 2011 (tissue sample only; specimen not collected); (e) female paratype UADBA-R 70849 (MSZC 577), collected in 2018. Inset pictures show coloration of oral mucosa of the respective specimens. (f–g) specimens probably assignable to U. fetsy photographed by J. Ganzhorn at Ankarana; the smaller specimen shown in g and on the right in f is most likely a male specimen, recognizable by the enlarged tail base and indentations in the tail.

FIGURE 5. Photos in life of comparative specimens of Uroplatus ebenaui and views of their oral mucosa coloration. (a–d) specimens from Nosy Be (a, adult male, photographed in 2012; b, female, photographed in 1992; c–d, female specimen, photographed in 2009). (e–g) adult male from Forêt d’Ambre (MSZC 794), photographed 2017. (h–i) female from Forêt d’Ambre, photographed 2014; (j) female from Manongarivo, photographed 2003; (k) specimen from Berara (Sahamalaza Peninsula), photographed 2001; (l) male from Fanambana forest, photographed in 2012.

FIGURE 6. Preserved holotype of Uroplatus fetsy sp. nov. (ZSM 288/2004, field number FGZC 552).