Abstract
The Hemidactylus brookii group taxon has received increased attention in recent years from systematists and taxonomists attempting to unravel the complicated issues of its synonyms. In this study, a morphological approach is adopted to re-examine the syntypes of Hemidactylus brookii and Hemidactylus subtriedroides. The syntype series of H. brookii is found to be composed of two morphologically distinct species. A Borneo syntype is designated as lectotype and redescribed in detail to provide taxonomic and nomenclatural stability for the species. A syntype of H. subtriedroides is designated lectotype and also redescribed in detail, along with additional populations, which includes the Australian paralectotype of H. brookii sensu lato. Hemidactylus subtriedroides is morphologically distinct from H. brookii sensu stricto, but indistinguishable from the recently elevated synonym Hemidactylus tenkatei with which it is here considered a junior subjective synonym. Neotypes are designated for the two Pakistan synonyms, Hemidactylus kushmorensis and Hemidactylus gleadowi, which are redescribed and their specific validity proposed based on morphological characters. The four species are distinguished from all South and Southeast Asian congeners. The taxonomic status and complications of the remaining Asian H. brookii synonyms are discussed based on their original descriptions and other published literature. Furthermore, the literature and known specimens of Hemidactylus subtriedrus are reviewed, revealing a long history of taxonomic confusion associated with the name. It is here proposed to be a junior subjective synonym of Hemidactylus triedrus. The difficulties associated with relating morphological based taxonomy to previous molecular phylogenetic studies are discussed for this group.
NSTL