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A redescription of Palaeogekko risgoviensis (Squamata, Gekkota) from the Middle Miocene of Germany, with new data on its morphology.

Andrea Villa
Published in: PeerJ (2023)
After its original description, the Middle Miocene gekkotan Palaeogekko risgoviensis remained an enigma for palaeontologists due to a rather poor knowledge of its osteology and relationships. Coming from a single locality in southern Germany, this gecko lived in central Europe during a period when a single gekkotan lineage ( i.e ., euleptine sphaerodactylids) is confidently reported to have inhabited the continent. However, it is unclear whether P . risgoviensis may represent a member of this same lineage or a second clade of Gekkota. In order to shed light on this issue, the type material of P . risgoviensis is here redescribed, refigured and extensively compared with extinct and extant geckos from Europe. A phylogenetic analysis is also conducted in order to investigate its relationships. The new observations confirm the validity of the German species as a distinct taxon, and exclude the previously-suggested chimeric status of the type material of this gecko (with the exception of a single dentary included in the type series, which clearly belong to a different lizard). Phylogenetic relationships of Palaeogekko are still unclear, though, with different positions within the gekkotan tree recovered for the taxon. Nevertheless, it is confidently supported as a non-eublepharid gekkonoid, in agreement with hypothesys presented by other scholars.
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