Hi,
I agree, there are a lot of "D.gran.gran." in Europe wich are probably a different species. So D. furcosus... how do you know exactly? Photo diagnostics? Is there a way to see/prove that?
Would be happy to know!
cheers
Sacha
This paper gives the diagnostic characteristics,
http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/zt02167p046.pdf. However it is unfortunate that most characteristics are slightly subjective, hard to tell in photos and really require you to have seen the species, based on distribution ID (and some variation within them) before you can really ID them through morphology alone.
Here's a quick run down in general.
D.granariensis: Plain pattern, possibly some white lateral spots that are not dark edged (or only partially dark edged), D.g.rex with a dark mid-lateral line. Bifurcation of the nape can occur but usually not strongly. Z
Wild D.g.granariensis
Diplodactylus granariensis by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Wild D.g.rex
Diplodactylus granariensis by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Diplodactylus ornatus was split much further back and isn't in that paper, however in my experience is probably one of the easiest to confuse in the wild. The vertebral line of these guys has less dark edging than grans, is straighter bur with more 'lumps' where it juts out, and always has white splotching around the mid-lateral region, often quite messy and not faded.
Diplodactylus ornatus by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Diplodactylus furcosus: these are quite yellow in colour compared to other Diplos (going to red even), while this is by no means diagnostic it's a good indicator. They have very strong bifurcation at the nape, the lateral pattern can be indistinct - marginally distinct with dark edging to spots. A strong candidate for many of your overseas "D.granariensis"
Diplodactylus furcosus by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Diplodactylus calcicolus: Vertebral often broken and strongly wavy, lots of lateral pattern with strongly dark edged spots and colour flecking of different scales. I don't have wild pics of this but there's one in the paper and these are almost definitely some.
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-diplodactylus-granariensis-granariensis.html
Diplodactylus wiru is almost definitely not in captivity, I'll go get some pics of them in November to rub in your faces.
Diplodactylus vittatus: Very plain, no head bifurcation, most easily mistaken for D.wiru not any of the other species.
Eastern D.vittatus
Diplodactylus vittatus by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Western D.vittatus
Diplodactylus vittatus by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
I don't think anyone has trouble identifying D.polyophthalmus? but it is definitely in that stone gecko group, a sister species to the granariensis clade.
D.polyophthalmus
Diplodactylus polyophthalmus by
Stephen Mahony, on Flickr
Now this does not mean by any measure IDs of captive animals (in Australia or otherwise) can always be made with any confidence. There's some pictures on here that blow me away, I just don't know what they are, and pictures of stuff that's very clearly one thing but looks nothing like it should.
E.g.
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...is-phyllurus-oedura/68436-some-my-diplos.html
The first D.galeatus WOW! what the hell that is not what a galeatus looks like, but it's clearly not anything else.
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-phyllurus-oedura/54515-d-g-granariensis.html
Some more probably calcicolus definitely not granariensis
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...phyllurus-oedura/41589-our-diplodactylus.html
The Diplos here listed as D.g.rex are really D.granariensis granariensis......
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...edura/30173-diplodactylus-g-granariensis.html
Not entirely sure what these are, but probably calci.
It's odd before writing this reply I honestly thought most of the stuff I saw Mis-ID'd was furcosus but now I can't find any of that, just a lot of Mis-ID'd calcicolus.
Anyway hope this helps, I'll re-post pics in here of D.wiru and D.calcicolus when I get them later in the year, if I remember.
