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Two new sympatric species of leaf-toed geckos (Gekkonidae: Phyllodactylus) from the Balsas region of the upper Marañon Valley, Peru

Abstract:

Two new species of the genus Phyllodactylus are described based on material collected in the southern portion of Departamento de Amazonas, Peru. Both species are well differentiated from all other South American Phyllodactylus based on characteristics of their morphology. In the case of one species, its large adult size and lack of well-defined rows of strongly keeled scales differentiate it from other Phyllodactylus, whereas in the second species, the presence of an enlarged postanal scale is diagnostic. Both species were collected in the xeric Balsas region of the upper Marañon Valley, and exhibit some similarities to other assemblages of sympatric Phyllodactylus in South America. The Balsas region is an area of endemism that warrants further attention from systematists and conservation biologists. Copyright 2008 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.