The Rio Huancabamba leaf-toed gecko (''Phyllodactylus johnwrighti'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Phyllodactylidae
The Phyllodactylidae are a family of geckos (Gekkota) consisting of over 150 species in 10 genera, distributed throughout the New World, North Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The family was first delineated based on a molecular phylogenetic a ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''johnwrighti'', is in honor of American herpetologist
John William Wright
John William Wright (1802 – 14 January 1848) was an English genre and portrait watercolour painter and illustrator.
Life and work
Wright was born in London in 1802, the son of John Wright (d. 1820), a miniature painter of repute, acquaint ...
(born 1936).
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Phyllodactylus johnwrighti'', p. 290).
Geographic range
''P. johnwrighti'' is found on the slopes of the
Huancabamba River
The Huancabamba River ("Stony Plain" in the Quechua language) in the Pasco Region of Peru has its origin in the confluence of several small rivers near the town of Oxapampa: the Chontabamba, the Llamaquizú, and the Esperanza rivers. From an e ...
valley in
Cajamarca Region, Peru.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''P. johnwrighti'' is shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...
, at an altitude of .
Reproduction
''P. johnwrighti'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Dixon JR, Huey RB (1970). "Systematics of the Lizards of the Gekkonid Genus ''Phyllodactylus'' on Mainland South America". ''Contributions in Science, Los Angeles County Museum'' (192): 1–78. (''Phyllodactylus johnwrighti'', new species, p. 56).
* Koch C, Venegas PJ, Santa Cruz R, Böhme W (2018). "Annotated checklist and key to the species of amphibians and reptiles inhabiting the northern Peruvian dry forest along the Andean valley of the Marañón River and its tributaries". ''Zootaxa'' 4385 (1): 1–101.
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Phyllodactylus johnwrighti'', p. 104). (in German).
Phyllodactylus
Reptiles of Peru
Reptiles described in 1970
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