Christinus Marmoratus - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by John Edward Gray in 1845. The name he gave placed this group in the genus Diplodactylus as Diplodactylus marmoratus. Gray's description was based on four specimens that were preserved in spirits. They were collected on the Abrolhos islands (off Western Australia), and were donated to the British museum from the collection of a “Mr. Gilbert.” Gray examined another preserved specimen of D. marmoratus (from a different donor) which was discoloured, leading him to mistakenly describe it as a separate species (Goniodactylus australis) in the same publication. In 1885 Boulenger placed D. marmoratus in the genus Phyllodactylus (the leaf-toed geckos). It remained in that genus until 1984, when a revision by Wells and Wellington placed it in the genus Christinus.

A study conducted by King in 1977 showed that C. marmoratus exhibits considerable geographic variation in karyotype across its range. Further investigation by Donnellan et al. (2000) led to the species being recognized as a composite of two subspecies; C. marmoratus marmoratus and C. marmoratus dactylus. The two subspecies are commonly referred to as the Western Marbled Gecko and the Southern Marbled Gecko.

Their placement within the genus may be summarised as follows:

• Christinus
  • Christinus alexanderi (endemic to Nullarbor Plain)
  • Christinus guentheri, (Lord Howe and Norfolk Island)
  • Christinus marmoratus, (widespread: southern mainland, northwest interior)
    • Christinus marmoratus macrodactylus
    • Christinus marmoratus marmoratus