Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution
Author
Figueroa, Alex
Author
Low, Martyn E. Y.
0000-0001-7927-7149
martyn.low@nus.edu.sg
Author
Lim, Kelvin K. P.
0000-0002-0638-9198
kelvinlim@nus.edu.sg
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-05-18
5287
1
1
378
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5287.1.1
journal article
53474
10.11646/zootaxa.5287.1.1
90d83153-c065-4771-9ac7-35dda67996b5
1175-5326
7960319
78E23714-8973-4755-BC94-0A751D7D2B37
Hemidactylus platyurus
(Schneider, 1792)
—
Native.
Stellio platyurus
Schneider, 1792: 30
.
Type
material: None designated;
type
material apparently lost, according to
Amarasinghe
et al.
(2009: 92)
.
Type
locality: None stated/traced.
Flat-tailed
Gecko
(
Figure 13H
)
Singapore
records.
Hemidactylus platyurus
—
Hanitsch, 1898: 19
.—
Flower, 1899: 629
.—Ridley, 1899: 206.—Weitlaner, 1902: 483 (“Hotel de la Paix” [= Peninsula Excelsior Hotel], Coleman Street).—
Boulenger, 1912: 45
.—
Hanitsch, 1912b: 14
.—Sworder, 1925a: 64.—
Cox
et al.
, 1998: 80
.—
Das, 2010: 221
.— L.L.
Grismer, 2011a: 131
.—L.L.
Grismer, 2011b: 493
, 496.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 79, 159.—Chan-ard
et al.
, 2015: 67.—
Kroner & Davis, 2015: 483
.—R. Subaraj, 2015: 52 (Night Safari;
Singapore
Zoo).—S. Subaraj, 2015: 6, 7 (Night Safari;
Singapore
Zoo).—
D’Rozario, 2016: 83
(Kew Drive).—K.K.P.
Lim
et al.
, 2016: 177
(Pulau Tekong).—H.C. Ho
et al.
, 2019: 125 (Alexandra Woodlands).—H.T.W. Tan
et al.
, 2019: 133 (Kent Ridge Park; National University of
Singapore
Kent Ridge Campus).—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 158, 180 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, after R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997).—
Cross, 2020n: 5
, 7 (Changi).—K.K.P.
Lim, 2020: 6
(Changi).—Siddall
et al.
, 2021: 9.—
Janssen & Sy, 2022: 96
, 161.
Hemidactylus garnoti
(non Duméril & Bibron, 1836)—
Chuang, 1973: 4
.
Platyurus platyurus
—L.M.
Chou, 1975: 136
.
Cosymbotes
[sic]
platyurus
—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 55.—
Denzer & Manthey, 1991: 314
.— K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K.
Lim, 1992: 119
, 150.—R. Subaraj, 1994: 13 (Ulu Sembawang; Upper Peirce Reservoir Park).—L.M.
Chou
et al.
, 1994: 105
.—K. Lim, 1995: 18 (Pulau Ubin; Sentosa; Sungei Buloh Nature Park [= SBWR]; Ulu Sembawang).—R. Subaraj, 1995: 35 (Pulau Ubin).—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 390, 391.—
Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 217
.—P.K.L. Ng & Sivasothi, 1999: 146.—
Anonymous, 2003: 92
(Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).
Cosymbotus platyurus
—N.
Koh, 1986: 1–2
.—L.M.
et al.
, Chou 1988: 349.—L.M.
Chou, 1995: 146
(Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).—Chan-ard
et al.
, 1999: 23.—B.P.L.
Goh
et al.
, 2002: 60
.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K.
Lim, 2002: 150
.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 79, 159.—
Ang
et al.
, 2012: 51
(Hort Park).
Remarks.
As mentioned above in the
H. frenatus
account,
H. platyurus
is so common in
Singapore
that Teo & Rajathurai (1997) declared that along with
H. frenatus
, it is virtually “found in every housing block in
Singapore
”. Indeed,
Flower (1899b)
found
H. platyurus
extremely common around houses in
Singapore
and was surprised that it was not reported from
Singapore
earlier. Yet, Sworder (1925) described
H. platyurus
as more of a forest species than
H. frenatus
.
Hemidactylus platyurus
was first documented in
Singapore
from specimens at the Raffles Museum (
Hanitsch 1898
). Unlike
H. frenatus
,
H. platyurus
went unreported from
Singapore
for 48 years (
Table 2
). Also unlike
H. frenatus
,
H. platyurus
was reported in
The Pangolin
journal (Subaraj 1994, 1995; Lim 1995).
Occurrence.
Ubiquitous. Common.
Singapore
conservation status.
Least Concern.
Conservation priority.
Lowest.
IUCN conservation status.
Least Concern [2021].
LKCNHM
&
NHMUK
Museum
specimens.
Singapore
(no locality)
:
BMNH
1897.12.28.10–12 (no date),
ZRC
.2.1247 (
Apr-1898
)
,
ZRC
.2.1243–
ZRC
.2.1246 (
27-Apr-1898
);
Greenbank Park
:
ZRC
.2.6251 (
25- Oct-2003
);
Jurong Campus [
NTU
]
:
ZRC
.2.1968–
ZRC
.2.1974 (
16-Apr-1980
)
,
ZRC
.2.2003–
ZRC
.2.2013 (
Mar-1981
);
Stamford Road
:
ZRC
.2.1249 (
Jun-1898
)
,
ZRC
.2.1248 (
15-Jun-1898
)
,
ZRC
.2.1250–
ZRC
.2.1251 (
Jul-1898
)
.
Additional
Singapore
museum specimens.
Singapore
(no locality):
CAS, MCZ, NMW, SAMA, UMZC, ZMUC;
Havelock Road:
UF
;
Nanyang University:
WAM.
Singapore
localities.
Alexandra Woodlands—Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Changi—Coleman Street— Greenbank Park—Havelock Road—Hort Park—Kent Ridge Park—Kew Drive—Nanyang Technological University Jurong Campus—National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Campus—Night Safari—Pulau Tekong—Pulau Ubin—Sentosa—Singapore Zoo—Stamford Road—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve—Ulu Sembawang Forest—Upper Peirce Reservoir Park.
Genus
Hemiphyllodactylus
Bleeker, 1860
(1 species)
Hemiphyllodactylus
Bleeker, 1860: 327
(
type
species:
Hemiphyllodactylus
typus
Bleeker, 1860
, by monotypy; gender masculine).