González Negrón, Alberto J.

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    Morphometric and molecular analysis of the mabouia-brooki haitianus Complex (Sauria: Gekkonidae) at the Western-Central Region of Puerto Rico
    (2004) González Negrón, Alberto J.; Acosta Martínez, Jaime A.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Lewis, Allen R.; Santos, Carlos J.; Ríos Velázquez, Carlos; Department of Biology; Otero, Ernesto
    The genus Hemidactylus belongs to the family Gekkonidae, a group of nocturnal lizards of African origin. Several species from this genus have arrived to the Western Hemisphere and have spawned many studies because the time and means of arrival are still uncertain. Of all the species, only two can be found in the Island, Hemidactylus brooki-haitianus and H. mabouia, living in sympatry. Historically, Hemidactylus brookihaitianus has been the most widely spread of the two species and can be found throughout the Island. The only reports of H. mabouia are from Isabela, Aguirre, and the satellite islands of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. Throughout the current research, the genus Hemidactylus was studied from morphologic and molecular points of view because both species have similar morphologic characters that make their identification harder. Various locations at the Western-Central region of the Island were studied with the purpose of finding an alternative method to identify each species and to report if a change in the distribution of the species has occurred in the last decades. Geckoes collected were analyzed morphologically and molecularly using traditional taxonomic methods and in silico mitochondrial cytochrome b gene comparisons, respectively. Gecko DNA used for molecular studies was extracted from the distal portion of the lizard’s tail. All geckoes classified using morphological traits as well as molecular approaches were H. mabouia. In this study no H. brooki-haitianus individuals were found suggesting that a change in the distribution of both species has occurred in Puerto Rico during the last 25 years.