A new endemic species of Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from São Nicolau Island, Cabo Verde Author Vasconcelos, Raquel Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37 - 49, E- 08003 Barcelona, Spain. Senckenberg, Forschungsinstitute und Naturmuseen, Sektion Herpetologie, Senckenberganlage 25, D- 60325 Frankfurt a. M., Germany gkoehler @ senckenberg. de; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 2563 - 5331 Author Köhler, Gunther 0000-0002-2563-5331 gkoehler@senckenberg.de Author Geniez, Philippe UMR 5175 CEFE, EPHE, CNRS, UM, Univ. Paul Valéry, SupAgro, IRD, INRA, Biogéographie et Écologie des Vertébrés, PSL Research University, Montpellier, France Author Crochet, Pierre-André 0000-0002-0422-3960 CEFE, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Univ. Paul Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France pierre-andre. crochet @ cefe. cnrs. fr; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 0422 - 3960 pierre-andre.crochet@cefe.cnrs.fr text Zootaxa 2020 2020-11-16 4878 3 501 522 journal article 8021 10.11646/zootaxa.4878.3.4 3591d588-5700-4bfe-a805-57486be6721b 1175-5326 4425319 F8841C39-8CAC-4EFB-A7F9-43F9C95236E8 Hemidactylus boavistensis boavistensis comb. nov. Boulenger, 1906 Name-bearing types. The description is based on several specimens from Boavista , from sea level to 600 m high (although the maximum elevation of Boavista is circa 360 m ) collected by L. Fea and sent to the NHMUK . The following six specimens in the NHMUK collection were all collected by Fea on Boavista and are thus all syntypes : NHMUK 1946.8.25.68-73. Type locality. Boavista Island , Cabo Verde Archipelago . Diagnosis. Very similar to H. b. chevalieri , but usually with four to five lamellas under the first finger according to Angel (1935) . Angel (1935) also claims that the transverse bands on the head and nape are usually more marked, but we found this to be highly variable and of little use for identification (see Fig. 7 ). Even though dorsal colouration is highly variable, Boavista individuals are usually lighter than Sal ones. Distribution. Boavista Island and adjacent islets. Conservation status. Not Evaluated. Threatened by ongoing touristic development on Boavista such as beach resorts, as the favourable habitat of this gecko is coastal areas with sand and dunes, and it seems avoiding urban and heavily-developed areas ( Vasconcelos 2013a ). Other authors ( López-Jurado et al. 1999 ) reported disappearance of this gecko in areas where the introduced house gecko Hemidactylus angulatus occurs. This exotic gecko is widespreading and now it also occurs, apart from anthropogenic habitats, in natural areas on Boavista , posing a threat to the endemic Hemidactylus ( Vasconcelos et al. 2013 ) . In addition, climate change may worsen the ongoing drought conditions in this island, negatively affecting Boavista leaf-toed geckos ( Vasconcelos 2013a ).