Minding the gap: Discovery of Hemidactylus granosus Heyden, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) in the southern Arava Valley, Israel

Israel has a long and rich history of herpetological research, with many studies of local reptiles and amphibians. Despite being one of the most thoroughly surveyed countries in the region, surprising discoveries about its herpetofauna continue to emerge. The gecko Hemidactylus turcicus is currently regarded as the only species of its genus in Israel. Based on genetic data and phylogenetic analyses, we confirm the occurrence of another Hemidactylus species in Israel. Specimens from the southern Arava Valley, until now thought to represent H. turcicus were found to belong to H. granosus, a species that until now was only known from Egypt, southern Jordan and Saudi Arabia. This research thus increases the number of Hemidactylus species in Israel to two and reveals a geographic connection between H. granosus populations in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, eastward through southern Israel into southern Jordan and southwards towards western and central Saudi Arabia.