Hemidactylus parkeri Loveridge 1936

Torki, Farhang, 2019, Three new species of Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Iran, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 209) 13 (2), pp. 239-258 : 255

Note on Hemidactylus parkeri Loveridge 1936

H. parkeri was described by Loveridge (1936), but this species was downgraded or rejected from subsequent species lists of Hemidactylus (e.g., Arnold 1980; Šmíd et al. 2015) and replaced by H. turcicus and H. robustus . Based on the following reasons, I do not agree with this decision. (i) Type locality: The type locality of H. parkeri is very far from the type localities of H. turcicus (Asiatic Turkey, by Moravec et al. 2011) and H. robustus (“Egypten, Arabien, und Abyssinien” restricted to “the Red Sea coast of the State of Eritrea ” by Šmíd et al. 2015). (ii) Ecology and climate: Loveridge (1936) described his new species in Zanzibar Island ( Tanzania), and this island may have an important role in the speciation of these geckos. Additionally, Zanzibar Island is located near the equator, with special ecological and climatic conditions; and the ecological and climatic conditions of the type locality of H. parkeri are completely different from the type localities of H. turcicus and H. robustus . (iii) New methods and insights: Based on phylogenetic studies, most Hemidactylus species described long ago have been split into several species, such as H. persicus , H. yerburii , H. turcicus , and H. robustus (e.g., Carranza and Arnold 2012; Šmíd et al. 2013, 2015). Therefore, additional phylogenetic studies on the equatorial Hemidactylus species are necessary to resolve this problem. (iv) Six species of Hemidactylus are distributed in Tanzania, and H. parkeri is not synonymous with all of them ( Uetz 2019). On the other hand, only one species is endemic to Tanzania ( H. tanganicus ). Based on the above reasons, there is not a logical and scientific basis for the rejection of H. parkeri . Therefore, in this study I am in agreement with Lazza (1978, 1983) on the validity of H. parkeri .