A new species of prehensile‐tailed gecko, Urocotyledon (Squamata: Gekkonidae), from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania

Abstract

A new species of prehensile‐tailed gecko of the genus Urocotyledon is described from the dry western slopes of the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. The species is most similar to its west African congeners, differing significantly from U. wolterstorffi of the Usambara and Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania in scalation, tail shape, and coloration. The new species differs from all other members of the genus in its reduced number of subdigital lamellae. This is the first putatively endemic species of reptile to be identified from the dry forest of the western slopes of the Udzungwa Mountains. Its presence suggests that more survey effort should be made in drier areas of the Eastern Arc Mountains.