Search

Two specimens of the Leopard Gecko Goniurosaurus araneus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) were collected from Nonggang National Nature Reserve, Chongzuo Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang Ethnicity Autonomous Region, China, in October 2011. This species is a new record for China and this report is a range extension for the species from northern Vietnam to southern Guangxi. A phylogenetic study demonstrated that Goniurosaurus araneus and G. luii are a species pair. We show for the first time that they coexist broadly but are narrowly allopatric in a small area in southern Guangxi, separated only by a river, similar to what had been reported previously for G. yingdeensis and Goniurosaurus indet. from northwestern Guangdong. A river as a geographical barrier, elevation, and aspect may have contributed to habitat partitioning between G. araneus and G. luii.

The eyelid geckos (family Eublepharidae) include both species with temperature-dependent sex determination and species where genotypic sex determination (GSD) was suggested based on the observation of equal sex ratios at several incubation temperatures. In this study, we present data on karyotypes and chromosomal characteristics in 12 species (Aeluroscalabotes felinus, Coleonyx brevis, Coleonyx elegans, Coleonyx variegatus, Eublepharis angramainyu, Eublepharis macularius, Goniurosaurus araneus, Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi, Goniurosaurus luii, Goniurosaurus splendens, Hemitheconyx caudicinctus, and Holodactylus africanus) covering all genera of the family, and search for the presence of heteromorphic sex chromosomes. Phylogenetic mapping of chromosomal changes showed a long evolutionary stasis of karyotypes with all acrocentric chromosomes followed by numerous chromosomal rearrangements in the ancestors of two lineages. We have found heteromorphic sex chromosomes in only one species, which suggests that sex chromosomes in most GSD species of the eyelid geckos are not morphologically differentiated. The sexual difference in karyotype was detected only in C. elegans which has a multiple sex chromosome system (X(1)X(2)Y). The metacentric Y chromosome evolved most likely via centric fusion of two acrocentric chromosomes involving loss of interstitial telomeric sequences. We conclude that the eyelid geckos exhibit diversity in sex determination ranging from the absence of any sexual differences to heteromorphic sex chromosomes, which makes them an interesting system for exploring the evolutionary origin of sexually dimorphic genomes.

A new species of Goniurosaurus described from Hainan Island is differentiated from all other species by having a series of enlarged, flat, imbricate scales on the mediolateral portions of the wrist; 37–46 preanal pores as opposed to 18–32 for all other species that have preanal pores; thin as opposed to wide juvenile body bands; faint, whitish colored bands in the caudal interspaces; and caudal bands being incomplete ventrally in adults. A phylogenetic analysis reveals that the new species is the basal member of the Goniurosaurus luii group. It differs from the other members of this group, Goniurosaurus luii and Goniurosaurus araneus, in being less than 107 mm in maximum snout vent length, having a more robust body stature, lacking elongate curved penultimate phalanges, having short robust digits, and having thin dark borders on the body bands. Three species of Goniurosaurus occur on Hainan Island.