Geckos on the borders: genetic evidence on co-occurrence of two species of wall geckos, genus Tarentola, on the island of Pantelleria, Italy

The taxonomy of wall geckos (genus Tarentola) in the Mediterranean basin is very complex and studies have indicated that some species are actually species complexes. We analysed mitochondrial (16S rRNA) and nuclear (MC1R, ACM4) DNA sequences of Tarentola samples from Pantelleria, an island in the Sicilian Channel between Tunisia and Sicily, to establish their taxonomic identity. Comparisons of our sequences with those available in GenBank indicates that four individuals were conspecifc with T. mauritanica while a single individual was a member of the T. fascicularis/deserti complex. This documents the occurrence of the T. fascicularis/deserti complex in Pantelleria for the frst time, in one of the few instances where these geckos are sympatric with T. mauritanica.