the website of FABIO PUPIN: naturalist, herpetologist and photographer.

A new species of gecko from Socotra

by Fabio Pupin

With an astonishing number of endemisms, Socotra is one of the last biodiversity hot-spot of the planet, a tourist heaven for true nature-lovers and a unique meta for researchers. Since 1880 many zoologists have explored Socotra island, everytime coming back with new discoveries. Even today, the amazing biodiversity of the island doesn’t miss the chance to surprise. This year an Italian herpetological expedition described a new and still unnoticed species of gecko, called Hemidactylus inintellectus. Altough this little nocturnal gecko seems to be quite common on the island, herpetologist have always mistaken it with other similar species –that’s why the Italian team called him “misunderstood”-. This new discover rise up the number of reptile species of Socotra to 26, with 23 species endemic of the island. And this is not a mere matter of numbers: when a species has no name it doesn’t exist, and it can’t be protected. That’s why biodiversity assessments are such an essential tool for conservation policies.

Reference: Acta Herpetologica 4(1): 83-98, 2009

Thanks to Roberto Sindaco, Cristina Grieco, Elisa Riservato, Ugo Ziliani, Edoardo Razzetti, Mauro Fasola, Caterina Carugati, Francesca Pella, Eleonora Boncompagni, Marco Pavia, Irene Pellegrino, Daniele Pellitteri, Badr Awadh Al-Aseily, Ahmed Adeeb Abdullah, Michele Menegon.