Rare, but not unique: a new specimen of the enigmatic gecko Rhodanogekko vireti from the lower Oligocene of southern Germany
Villa, Andrea (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Rummel, Michael (Naturmuseum der Stadt Augsburg)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Rhodanogekko vireti is one of the least known extinct geckos. It was described based on an isolated frontal from the middle Eocene of France, which until now includes the only material assigned to this species. In this contribution, we report an additional isolated frontal, coming from the lower Oligocene of southern Germany, which can be attributed to R. vireti based on a strong middle constriction and a dorsal rugose sculpturing. The new fossil extends the stratigraphic record of the species by about 10 Myr, and it is the first evidence for its presence outside France. The phylogenetic position of Rhodanogekko is still uncertain, but affinities with Sphaerodactylidae were suggested previously. If this is correct, the new frontal from Germany would fit into a stratigraphic gap without recorded confident sphaerodactylids in Europe, spanning the entire Oligocene. However, Rhodanogekko lacks the posterodorsal depressions or grooves apomorphic for frontals of Euleptinae, the subfamily including all European sphaerodactylids, extant and extinct. Additional fossils are needed to understand the relationships between Rhodanogekko and other gekkotans, and we here highlight the potential borne by the late Paleogene fossil record from southern Germany for new discoveries of these reptiles.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-117289GB-I00 Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/BP-00038 Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00620
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, Vol. 70, Num. 4 (2025) , p. 699-703, ISSN 1732-2421

DOI: 10.4202/app.01257.2025

5 p, 484.5 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
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