Hemidactylus vernayi sp. nov. (Fig. 5) lsid: http:// zoobank.org:act: 749CA24D-F3D6-4DAF-8818-EC48CF90D884 Hemidactylus bayonii [part]: Ceríaco et al. (2020:20) Ceríaco et al. (2020) designated a neotype for H. bayonii based on specimens from Kissama National Park, south of Luanda, and provided an updated diagnosis for the species. According to the molecular results presented in the latter revision, H. bayonii extends from coastal regions of Luanda to Kwanza Sul Province, central Angola. The authors tentatively assigned four specimens from Benguela Province (AMNH 47770–1, 47778, 47780), collected in 1925 during the Vernay Angola Expedition, as well as three specimens from Lucira, northern Namibe Province (TM 24447, 24450–51) to H. bayonii. A re-evaluation of the four specimens from Benguela Province reveal that this population has a lower number of femoral pores, a more robust cephalic region and a different coloration pattern (Table 1, Fig. 3). Based on these characters we describe these specimens as a new taxon. The Lucira specimens housed in the TM were not consulted in the present comparison and need to be carefully reviewed before assigning them to any of the exiting taxa. Holotype. AMNH 47770 (Fig. 4), adult male, Lobito (-12.33333º, 13.583331º, V = III = II> I (right manus); V> III = IV> II> I (right pes). Coloration (in preservative). Dorsum of an irregular pattern of light brown and dark brown, and mostly continuous cream dorsolateral stripes. Crown of head light brown with scattered dark brown scales. A cream stripe extending from nostril to midorbital rim, through eye, and on to temporal region.Infralabials and posterior supralabials pale, anterior supralabials with scattered dark pigment. Forelimbs and hindlimbs brown. Venter immaculate white; palms and soles brownish. Variation. Variation in scalation and body measurements of the paratypes of H. vernayi sp. nov. is reported in Table 3. The majority of the paratypes do not differ in any important details from the holotype. Comparison with West and Central African congeners. Hemidactylus vernayi sp. nov. is readily distinguished from H. kamdemtohami and H. richardsonii by the lack of basal digital webbing; it is distinguished from H. matschiei by having spiny tubercles on the dorsum and tail and small subcaudal scales. It is distinguished from H. steindachneri by the absence of a longitudinal row of keeled tubercles on the ventrolateral border of flanks; from H. echinus by lacking a double row of enlarged spines on the lateral side of the tail; from H. ansorgii by having a more robust body (versus largely dorsoventrally flattened/slender) and by having enlarged keeled tubercles on body and tail (versus tubercles relatively indistinct). It differs from H. pseudomuriceus by having small subcaudal scales (versus large, hexagonal midventral subcaudals); from H. muriceus by having a higher number of dorsal tubercle rows (14–16 versus 7–12); and from H. hecqui in its smaller size (maximum SVL 36.7 mm versus 50 mm for the unique holotype of H. hecqui). With respect to Angolan congeners, H. vernayi sp. nov. differs from H. longicephalus in its lower number of dorsal tubercle rows (14–16 versus 16–18) and by its much smaller maximum size (maximum SVL 36.7 versus 54.8 mm); from H. benguellensis by its lower number of precloacal pores (4–6 versus 23–33); and from H. mabouia by having a lower number of precloacal pores (4–6 versus 28–39); from H. paivae by its much smaller maximum size (maximum SVL 36.7 versus 68.4 mm) and a lower number of precloacal pores (4–6 versus 6–8); from H. nzingae in its lower number of dorsal tubercle rows (14–16 versus 16–18), higher number of dorsal tubercle rows (28–31 versus 22–27) and by its much smaller maximum size (maximum SVL 36.7 versus 51.5 mm); from H. hannahsabinae sp. nov. by in its lower number of dorsal tubercle rows (14–16 versus 16–18), higher number of dorsal tubercle rows (28–31 versus 26) and by its much smaller maximum size (maximum SVL 36.7 versus 47.4 mm). The newly described species can be distinguished from H. bayonii, with which it has been previously confused by Ceríaco et al. (2020), by its lower number of precloacal pores (4–5 versus 6–9), by lacking a series of dark parallel dorsolateral markings and by its much more robust body and head (Fig. 5). Distribution. The species in known from low elevation (below 919 m a.s.l.) in the coastal areas of southern Angola, in Benguela Province (Fig. 6). Habitat and Natural History notes. Nothing is known regarding the natural history of this species. The habitat in Lobito, the type locality of H. vernayi sp. nov. is dominated by coastal sandy soils and xeric vegetation (Grandvaux-Barbosa 1970). Etymology. The specific epithet “ vernayi ”, formed in the genitive singular and is masculine, is given in honor of Arthur Stannard Vernay (1877–1960), English-born American explorer and philanthropist who funded and organized the Vernay Angolan Expedition for the American Museum of Natural History, where the type series were collected. Vernay also supported the Vernay-Lang Kalahari Expedition for the Transvaal Museum, on which the herpetologist V.F. FitzSimons (1901–1975) made important reptile discoveries. We propose the Portuguese common name of “Osga de Vernay”, and the English common name of “Vernay’s Tropical Gecko”.

Published as part of Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Agarwal, Ishan, Marques, Mariana P. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2020, A correction to a recent review of the genus Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Angola, with the description of two additional species, pp. 92-106 in Zootaxa 4861 (1) on pages 100-104, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4861.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/4414620