Philippine lizards of the family Gekkonidae comprise 49 species (Taylor, 1915, 1922; Brown and Alcala, 1978) in 10 genera: Gehyra (1), Gekko (13), Hemidactylus (5), Hemiphyllodactylus (2), Lepidodactylus (6), Luperosaurus (8), Ptychozoon (1), Pseudogekko (4), and Cyrtodactylus (9), (Brown et al., 2007, 2010a, 2011; Welton et al., 2009, 2010a, 2010b; Zug, 2011). An amazing percentage of these species are endemic to the Philippines archipelago (roughly 85%; Brown et al., 2011). Several of the recently described gekkonids in the Philippines were discovered only recently as part of ongoing surveys around the archipelago. Recent phylogenetic studies focused on Philippine gekkonids (Siler et al., 2010; Welton et al., 2010a,b) have resulted in the observation of high levels of genetic diversity among populations of widespread species, an indication that the country's gecko diversity may still be greatly underestimated.
There are currently 33 recognized species in the genus Lepidodactylus, six known to occur in the Philippines (Lepidodactylus aureolineatus, Lepidodactylus balioburius, Lepidodactylus christiani, Lepidodactylus herrei, Lepidodactylus lugubris, Lepidodactylus planicaudus). One of these species (Lepidodactylus herrei) is polytypic, with two subspecies currently recognized to occur in the archipelago (L. h. herrei and L. h. medianus).
In preservative: Dorsal ground color light-tan to rusty-tan and relatively uniform (predominantly so in some populations such as in south central Mindanao), or tan, reddish-tan to light brown and less uniform with some darker blotches dorsolaterally, occasionally with a few small, dark spots (for example, in the Camiguin Island population); a light bar formed of one or more (most often two to foru) rows of scales extend from the tip of the snout through the eye to the ear region, or may be largely limited to the region between the eye and ear; in most examples a few or sometimes all of the scales in this line appear pearly-white; venter uniformly creamy to light tan or with numerous flecks, especially along lateral margins. (Text taken from Brown and Alcala, 1978)
Lepidodactylus aureolineatus is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) moderate-sized species of Lepidodactylus (SVL 32-44 mm); (2) supralabials 11-13; (3) infralabials 9-13; (4) chin shields in 4-7 rows of enlarged scales; (5) midbody scale rows 120-140; (6) digit webbing between Toe III and Toe IV extends 1/5 to 1/4; (7) digit dilation broad; (8) terminal scansors divided except for first digit; (9) Toe IV scansors 10-15; (10) Toe I scansors 9-10; (11) all digits clawed except for first; (12) preanal and femoral pores 30-40 in continual series; and (13) populations not parthenogenetic. Characters and character states from Brown and Alcala (1978).
This species is recognized to occur on Basilan, Mindanao, Camiguin Sur, Mantique, and Samar Islands in the Philippines. It is likely that this species also occurs on Leyte Island.
The small number of specimens from Mindanao Island for which we have data were taken from aerial ferns and Pandanus in the forest. On Camiguin Island, it has been found to be fairly common in coconut groves and in aerial ferns in the forest, and also at times in Pandanus and shrubs. It has been taken from near sea level to about 1,200 meters elevation in the forest. (Text taken from Brown and Alcala, 1978).
Mindanao Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complex (PAIC; Brown and Diesmos, 2002).
This species is generally documented from coconut plantations and groves of coconut trees, as well as aerial ferns (Brown and Alcala, 1978).
32-44 mm SVL (Brown and Alcala, 1978)
Agusan Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines; type lost in the destruction of the Philippine Bureau of Science during World War II
Lepidodactylus aureolineatus, also known as the golden scaly-toed gecko or yellow-lined smooth-scaled gecko, is a species of gecko. It is endemic to the Philippines.[2]
Lepidodactylus aureolineatus, also known as the golden scaly-toed gecko or yellow-lined smooth-scaled gecko, is a species of gecko. It is endemic to the Philippines.
