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Reproductive Biology of the Southernmost Gecko Homonota Darwini: Convergent Life-history Patterns among Southern Hemisphere Reptiles Living in Harsh Environments

Abstract The southern-most nocturnal Gecko Homonota darwini from Patagonia, Argentina, exhibits a long cycle of gametogenesis, and females usually skip a year of reproduction. This annual to biennial cycle for females and a fixed clutch size of one egg results in a mean annual reproductive output of 0.75, which is one of the lowest values found in lizards. The life-history traits, summarized here for H. darwini, are closer to phylogenetically distant species from similar latitudes (Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, and Tasmania) than with congenerics from lower latitudes in Argentina. We postulate that the affinities found among different reptile lineages living at similar latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere are the result of convergence. The short activity seasons and the low mean temperatures seem to select for prolonged reproductive cycles, low reproductive output, long lifespan, late maturity, and enhanced parental care of fewer offspring.