Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription or Fee Access

Occurrence of Morphological Abnormalities in the Flat-Tailed House Gecko Hemidactylus platyurus (Schneider, 1792) (Reptilia, Sauria, Gekkonidae) in the Cities of South-East Asia (Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Vientiane)

Evgeny Lvovich Konstantinov, Anatoly Sergeevich Chulisov, Lyubov Alexandrovna Astakhova, Olesya Yurievna Buldova, Viktor Makisimovich Chernov, Nikita Vladimirovich Kulabukhov

Abstract


The paper presents the results of the study on morphological abnormalities in Hemidactylus platyurus, which inhabit large cities in Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Vientiane). When processing 1377 specimens of H. platyurus in the cities under study, 87 individuals were found to have some type of abnormality Pas = 6.32%. In the marked deviation groups, individuals with limb abnormalities (Pas = 5.30%) are most common; in the group of other abnormalities (Pas = 1.56%), tail bifurcation and skin neoplasms are approximately equally distributed. In the cities under study, a rare group is head morphoses (Pas = 0.22%), in which a single case of microagnathia was noted. The alignment of the diversity of abnormalities and the proportion of rare morphs among males and females shows a uniform distribution of morphoses in the group with an equal probability of detection among males and females. The analysis showed that there are no significant (p > 0.05) differences in the manifestation of morphological abnormalities depending on the biotope (walls, trees). The analysis of intra-urban (centre and outskirts) and inter-urban features in the manifestation of morphological abnormalities revealed highly significant differences (p < 0.05). The results of the analysis indicate the specificity of the urban environment associated with the level of urbanization and the formation of a large variety of biotopes within cities.

Keywords


morphological abnormalities; Hemidactylus platyurus; Southeast Asia; Bangkok; Vientiane; Phnom Penh; urban ecology; synanthropic herpetofauna

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ananjeva N. B. and Danov R. A. (1991), «A rare case of bifurcated caudal regeneration in the Caucacian agama, Stellio caucasius», Amphibia–Reptilia, 12, 343 – 356.

Bhattarai S., Pokheral C. P., Lamichhane B. R., Regmi U. R., Ram A. K., and Subedi N. (2018), «Amphibians and reptiles of Parsa National Park, Nepal», Amph. Reptile Conserv., 12(1), 35 – 48.

Borkin L. J., Bezman-Moseyko O. S., and Litvinchuk S. N. (2012), «Evaluation of animal deformity occurrence in natural populations (an example of amphibians)», Proc. Zool. Inst. RAS, 316(4), 324 – 343 [in Russian].

Brinkhoff T. (2007), Bangladesh – Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area, http://www.citypopulation.de (accessed April 25, 2023)

Brinkman D. B., Holroyd P. A., and Gardner J. D. (2009), «Morphology and evolution of turtles», in: Proc. of the Gaffney Turtle Symposium in honor of Eugene S. Gaffney (2009), Springer, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, etc.

Chan J. G., Young L. L., Chang P. R. K., Shero C. M., and Watts C. (1984) «Morphological anomalies of two geckos, Hemidactylus frenatus and Lepidodactylus lugubris, and the toad, Bufo marinus, on the Island of Hawaii», in: C. W. Smith (ed.), Proc. of the Fifth Conf. in Natural Sciences in Hawaii, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HW, USA, pp. 41 – 50.

Christopoulos A. and Pafilis P. (2020), «Hindlimb malformation in a widely distributed skink, Chalcides ocellatus», Herpetol. Notes, 13, 15 – 17.

Chulisov A. S., Konstantinov E. L., and Vongsa T. (2020), «Analysis of the asymmetry of folidosis of the flat-tailed house gecko Hemidactylus platyurus (Schneider, 1792) (Reptilia, Sauria, Gekkonidae) on the territory of cities in Southeast Asia (Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Bangkok)», Principles Ecol., 1, 136 – 148 [in Russian].

Farke C. M. and Distler C. (2015), «Ontogeny and abnormalities of the tortoise carapace: a computer tomography and dissection study», Salamandra, 51(3), 231 – 244.

Hernandez-Divers S. M. and Garner M. M. (2003), «Neoplasia of reptiles with an emphasis on lizards», Vet. Clin. N. America: Exotic Animal Pract., 6, 251 – 273.

Hoge A. R., Belluomini H. E., Schreiber G., and Penha A. M. (1959), «Sexual abnormalities in Bothrops insularis (Amaral) 1921 (Serpentes)», Mem. Inst. Butantan, 29, 17 – 88.

Koleska D., Svobodova V., Husák T., Kulma M., and Jablonski D. (2017), «Tail bifurcation recorded in Sauromalus ater», Herpetol. Notes, 10, 363 – 364.

Konstantinov E. L. and Buldova O. Yu. (2016), «Variability of folidosis of the mandible Hemidactylus platyurus (Schneider, 1792) on the territory of Laos and Cambodia», Vestn. SPb. Gos. Univ., 3, 57 – 62 [in Russian].

Kukushkin O. V. (2018), «On anomalies of tail regeneration and autotomy in the Crimean gecko, Mediodactylus danilewskii (Reptilia, Sauria, Gekkonidae)», Curr. Stud. Herpetol., 18(3/4), 180 – 187 [in Russian].

Kumar G. C. and Srinivasulu C. (2015), «A two – tailed Indian giant leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus giganteus)», Taprobanica, 7(4), 263 – 265.

Kuranova V. N. (1998), Fauna and Ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles of Western Siberia. Author’s Abstract of Candidate’s Thesis, Tomsk [in Russian].

Maria M. and Al-Razi H. (2018), «Observation of tail bifurcation in Hemidactylus frenatus (Schlegel, 1836)», Herpetol. Notes, 11, 953 – 954.

Martins R. L., Peixoto P. G., Fonseca P. H., Martinelli A. G., Silva W. R., and Pelli A. (2013), «Abnormality in the tail of the collated lizard Tropidurus gr. torquatus (Iguania, Tropiduridae) from Uberaba city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil», Herpetol. Notes, 6, 369 – 371.

Nekrasova O. D. (2008), «Classification of amphibians anomalies», Proc. Ukr. Herpetol. Soc., 1, 55 – 58 [In Russian].

Pelegrin N. and Leão S. M. (2016), «Injured Salvator merianae (Teiidae) regenerates six tails in central Argentina», Cuad. Herpetol., 30, 21 – 23.

Sanches P. R., Santos F. P., and Costa-Campos C. E. (2017), «Ectrodactyly of the exotic lizard Hemidactylus mabouia (Gekkonidae) in an urban area of northern Brazil, eastern Amazon», Bol. Asoc. Herpet. Esp., 28, 11 – 12.

Sood M. S. (1939), «A peculiar case of caudal abnormality in Hemidactylus flaviviridis Rüppell», Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 9B(5), 316 – 322.

Vershinin V. L. (1989), «Morphological anomalies of amphibians of the urban area», Ékologiya, 3, 58 – 66 [in Russian].

Vershinin V. L., Dubois A., Henle K., and Puki M. (2014), Anomalies and Pathology of Amphibians and Reptiles: Methodology, Evolutionary Significance, an Assessment of the Health of the Environment, Izd. UrFU, Yekaterinburg [in Russian].

Vershinin V. L. (2015), Basics of Methodology and Methods of Research of the Anomalies and Pathologies of Amphibians, Izd. UrFU, Yekaterinburg [in Russian].




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2025-32-3-177-183

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


You can subscribe to the print or electronic version of the journal on the site of EastView Company. If you have any questions, please write to the email sales@ivis.ru