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Pachydactylus vansoni FITZSIMONS 1933

Female of Pachydactylus vansoni. South Africa. © M. Barts.

Male of Pachydactylus vansoni. South Africa. © M. Barts.

Female of Pachydactylus vansoni. South Africa. © M. Barts.

Clutch of Pachydactylus vansoni. © M. Barts.

Young animal of Pachydactylus vansoni. © M. Barts.

Young animal of Pachydactylus vansoni. © M. Barts.

Habitat of Pachydactylus vansoni. South Africa. © M. Barts.

Habitat of Pachydactylus vansoni. MooiRiver, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.
© T. Ping.

Pachydactylus vansoni. MooiRiver, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. © T. Ping.

Originalbeschreibung / Original description  

FITZSIMONS, V.F.M. (1933): Description of five new lizards from the Transvaal and Southern Rhodesia. — Ann. Transvaal Mus., 15: 274 — Terra typica: Zoutpansberg mountains between Entabeni and LakeFundusi, by V. FitzSimons during November, 1931

Type: An adult U (T.M.. No. 14179) collected on the Zoutpansberg mountains between Entabeni and LakeFundusi, by V. FitzSimons during November, 1931. Also two half-grown paratypes, T.M. Nos. 14249 and 14250) were collected near Entabeni at the same time by G. van Son.

Description: Head oviform, distinct from neck, almost as broad as long (8 times); snout slightly longer than diameter of eye; ear opening small, oval and oblique; head and body depressed. Limbs moderate, digits short, dilated distally, with four lamellae inferiorly. Scales on head slightly convex, those on snout much enlarged; a few scattered enlarged tubercles on occiput, distinctly smaller than scales on snout. Naso-rostrals in contact. First labial well separated from nostril. Rostral much broader than deep. Seven upper and lower labials. Anterior labials adjoining mental much wider than latter, which is distinctly longer than broad, narrowing posteriorly to about half its anterior width.

Upper parts with small granular scales, intermixed with large strongly keeled (almost trihedral) tubercles which are larger and more densely aggregated dorso-laterally. Below, scales on throat minute, becoming larger posteriorly over chest and abdomen; latter scales smooth, flattened, subimbricate and much larger than scales on snout. Tail round and tapering, segmented; covered above with small granular scales, alter-nating with transverse rows of large pointed keeled scales along distal edge of each segment; below, scales smooth, imbricate and much enlarged in median ventral line, being at least two to three times as large as abdominal scales.

Colour: Light greyish brown above, with dark brown irregularly shaped spots and blotches scattered over back; a distinct whitish streak from angel of jaws, completely encircling occiput posteriorly; traces of narrow whitishtransverse streaks across anterior part of back, linked up by a median streak from back of occiput. Lips white; each labial with a dark brownspot. Below greyish white.

The more juvenile paratypes are brown above, with a series of 7-8 narrow black-edged whitish transverse bands on back between occiput and root of tail; similar bands on tail encircling latter completely on proximal half. Irregular whitish vermiculations on occiput; a whitish black-edged band across snout, just anterior to orbits.