A NEW MADAGASCAN PHELSUMA, WITH A REVIEW OF PHELSUMA-TRILINEATA AND COMMENTS ON PHELSUMA-CEPEDIANA IN MADAGASCAR (SQUAMATA, GEKKONIDAE)

A herpetological survey of the Tolanaro region in southeast Madagascar yielded a new species of Phelsuma. This species is known from three l ittoral forest localities, all within the climatic transition zone bet ween the humid Eastern Domain and the arid Western Domain. It may be e ndemic to the Tolanaro region, and its survival is in doubt, because t he remaining littoral forests are rapidly disappearing. The position o f the nostril, though variable, suggests that this species is more clo sely related to species of Phelsuma of the Mascarene Islands than to t he Madagascan species. After examining the holotype of Phelsuma trilin eata, and other specimens identified as this species, we conclude that P. trilineata is a junior synonym of P. cepediana. A new specimen of Phelsuma cepediana, collected in the northeast, confirms the presence of that species in Madagascar. Phelsuma cepediana may have been introd uced to Madagascar from Reunion or Mauritius.