Abstract
A recent molecular phylogeny of the Arid clade of the genus
Hemidactylus
revealed that the recently described
H. saba
and two unnamed
Hemidactylus
species from Sinai, Saudi Arabia and Yemen form a well-supported monophyletic group within the Arabian radiation of the genus. The name ‘
Hemidactylus saba
species group’ is suggested for this clade. According to the results of morphological comparisons and the molecular analyses using two mitochondrial (
12S
and
cytb
) and four nuclear (
cmos
,
mc1r
,
rag1
,
rag2
) genes, the name
Hemidactylus granosus
Heyden, 1827 is resurrected from the synonymy of
H. turcicus
for the Sinai and Saudi Arabian species. The third species of this group from Yemen is described formally as a new species
H. ulii
sp. n.
The phylogenetic relationships of the members of ‘
Hemidactylus saba
species group’ are evaluated and the distribution and ecology of individual species are discussed.