Tarentola ephippiata O’Shaughnessy, 1875

Bauer, Aaron M., Tchibozo, Sévérin, Pauwels, Olivier S. G. & Lenglet, Georges, 2006, A review of the gekkotan lizards of Bénin, with the description of a new species of Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae), Zootaxa 1242, pp. 1-20 : 7

Tarentola ephippiata O’Shaughnessy, 1875

Grandison (1961) clarified the taxonomic status of this species, recognizing it as distinct from T. annularis Geoffroy Saint Hilaire and indicating a broad range in West Africa, although she did not examine material from Bénin. Joger (1984) considered the species to range from the Côte d’Ivoire to Cameroon and north into Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Tchad, but implied that no specimens were actually recorded from Bénin, although he considered their occurrence certain. Our record below is thus the first confirmed record of T. epphipiata for Bénin. Dunger (1968) reported this species from fig trees and in­ and outside human dwellings and other buildings in northern Nigeria. Our specimens were taken in savanna habitat.