A systematic review of the genus Uroplatus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), with comments on its biology

The gekkonid lizard genus Uroplatus is comprehensively reviewed for the first time. Six species are recognized—U. fimbriatus, U. sikorae, U. lineatus, U. ebenaui, U. alluaudi and U. guentheri—and their potential interrelationships are examined. Numerous bizzare morphological features, characteristic of the highly derived species U. fimbriatus, are found to be shared with other members of the genus, but are not universal for this taxon. Thus, while U. fimbriatus exhibits an overall morphology that has been employed in the past as justification for elevating the genus to monotypic familial status, this represents only an extreme of a continuum. U. guentheri and U. alluaudi are much less unusual in their morphological features. The potential biological roles of the more extreme features found within the genus are considered.