Pristurus abdelkuri Arnold, 1986

Razzetti, Edoardo, Sindaco, Roberto, Grieco, Cristina, Pella, Francesca, Ziliani, Ugo, Pupin, Fabio, Riservato, Elisa, Pellitteri-Rosa, Daniele, Butikofer, Luca, Suleiman, Ahmed Saeed & Al-Aseily, Badar Awadh, 2011, Annotated checklist and distribution of the Socotran Archipelago Herpetofauna (Reptilia), Zootaxa 2826, pp. 1-44 : 10-11

Pristurus abdelkuri Arnold, 1986

Pristurus abdelkuri Arnold, 1986b: 359 , Fig. 7—Locus typicus: “Abd el Kuri ”. Pristurus rupestris Blanford, 1874 [partim].— Boulenger 1903: 94. Pristurus abdelkuri .— Arnold, 1993: 358 [368, 375, 377, 379]. Figs 1 –6 (ecology, behaviour). Pristurus cf. abdelkuri .—Rösler, 1998: 34.

Pristurus abdelkuri .— Wranik, 1998b: 149, Tab. 1 .

Pristurus abdelkuri . — Arnold, 2009: 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 20, 21.

In Abd al-Kuri this gecko can be observed on rock or gravel grounds with scattered rocks ( Rösler & Wranik, 2004 and our original data). There are some populations in Socotra Island that have been attributed to this species, although its taxonomy is not clear and therefore some authors refer to these as Pristurus cf. abdekuri. If populations of Socotra Island will be proved to belong to P. abdelkuri , they could have been only recently introduced from Adb al-Kuri, as hypothesized by Rösler & Wranik (2003, 2004), since they seem to be restricted to the shores near Hadiboh and east of this town up to Bindar di-Lishah, and to two other littoral areas: Noged at 12°18’ N – 53°48’ E ( Rösler & Wranik, 2004) and Qalansiyah (our data). Preliminary genetic data seems support the hypotesis of an introduction (S, Carranza in litt.)

Habitat. In Socotra we observed the species on coastal rocks (just N of Qalansiyah and near Hawlef harbour) but also in sandy and gravel coasts (including the “vertical” dunes above Hawlef, up to 50 m of elevation), or beaches with presence of fossil corals and scattered vegetation, dead trunks and other debris. In Abd al-Kuri we found the species on rocks, piles of stones, hardened ground with stones or corals.

Original data. Fig. 15. Socotra Island: Qalansiyah, Howlef, Di Lishah area. Abd al-Kuri Island.

Bibliographic data. Steindachner (1903), Arnold (1986c), Wranik (1998b), Schätti & Desvoignes (1999), Rösler & Wranik (2004).

General distribution. Endemic to Abd al-Kuri and Socotra Islands.

Remarks. The distinctiveness of this Pristurus species from Abd al Kuri was suggested for the first time by Parker (1938): “ At present it seems advisable to use the name sokotranus for the Pristurus of Abd-el-Kuri also, though further collecting may reveal that the colour differences are sufficiently constant and well-marked to warrant the use of a distinctive name ”.