shanengwenya's Identifications

Chondrodactylus laevigatus https://www.tyroneping.co.za/geckos/chondrodactylus-laevigatus-fischers-gecko/

PHYLOGENY OF THE GENUS CHONDRODACTYLUS (SQUAMATA: GEKKONIDAE) WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A STABLE TAXONOMY.

MORGAN D. HEINZ,1,2 IAN G. BRENNAN,1,3 TODD R. JACKMAN,1 AND AARON M. BAUER1,4

"Tubercles on occiput and posterior half of crown large very large and keeled to stellate, becoming smaller on the anterior crown and interorbital region and slightly larger again on the dorsum of the snout; interorbital and especially snout scales flattened or domed, keelless or with only weakly defined keels. Most anterior dorsal head tubercles in contact with one another, whereas tubercles of the crown and nape may be separated from one another by tiny granules (Fig. 5E–H), although typical- ly not as widely spaces as in C. turneri. Tubercles anterior and dorsal to ear het- erogeneous, generally large and bearing a prominent longitudinal keel. Chin and gular scales small and granular, becoming pro- gressively smaller postero-medially (condi- tion similar to Fig. 7B), approximately 5
chin scales contained within the diameter of a single paravertebral dorsal tubercle. Dor- sal tubercles large, oval to rounded, from unkeeled to strongly keeled, if strongly keeled then variably bearing small periph- eral radiating ridges, although not as strongly stellate as in C. bibronii, becoming smaller and more conical on flanks. Trunk tubercles usually well-separated by smaller granular scales, forming 14–20 (usually 18 in the western clade, 14 in the eastern clade, and 16–18 in the Kgaligadi clade), slightly irregular to very regular longitudinal rows of enlarged tubercles (Fig. 17). In addition, mid-vertebral line with a mixture of granules and smaller, rounded, unkeeled to moderately keeled tubercles (single or in pairs; Fig. 6F–H). Tubercles on dorsum and postaxial surface of thigh and shank large, somewhat flattened, to keeled or mucronate. Scales on upper arm non-tuberculate, flattened, imbricating, becoming tubercular on forearm, conical to mucronate, but smaller and less prominent than tubercles of shank. Tail distinctly verticillate, each whorl at tail-base bearing 6 (8 close to tail base) enlarged, keeled (proximal whorls) or conical to strongly mucronate tubercles; tubercles per whorl decreasing to 4 then 2 on distal portion of tail.
Dorsal coloration buff to light to medium brown, sometimes with reddish or grayish tones with indistinct to well-developed dark brown to almost black dorsal crossbars, especially prominent anteriorly. Basic pat- tern similar to congeners, with nape, shoulder, mid-body, mid-abdomen, and hip bands. White tubercles, when present, typically immediately posterior to or within dark bands. Tail banded, boldly or obscured, with 8–10 dark bands fading later- ally; boundaries between pale and dark bands usually marked by complete or incomplete dark brown edges; some darker bands may be reduced to middorsal blotch- es."