Angel's petite gecko (''Paragehyra petiti'') 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 ...
Gekkonidae
Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 64 genera. Members of the Gekkonidae comprise many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos ('' Hemidactylus''), tokay ...
. 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
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
Etymology
The specific name, ''petiti'', is in honor of
French ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
Louis Petit, fils (1856-1943).
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ]
. (''Paragehyra petiti'', p. 205).
Geographic range
''P. petiti'' is found in southwestern Madagascar, in the area that was formerly called
Toliara Province
The Toliara Province (formerly Toliary or Tuléar) is a former province of Madagascar with an area of . It had a population of 2,229,550 (July, 2001). Its capital was Toliara. Near Toliara was the " spiny forest".
Toliara Province bordered the fol ...
.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred 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 ...
s of ''P. petiti'' are forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and rocky areas at altitudes near sea level.
Reproduction
''P. petiti'' 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
*Angel F
Angel_F is a fictional child artificial intelligence that has been used in art performances worldwide focused on the issues of digital liberties, intellectual property and on the evolution of language and behaviour in information society. The chara ...
(1929). "''Description d'un gecko nouveau, de Madagascar'' ". ''Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France'' 54: 489–491. (''Paragehyra petiti'', new species). (in French).
* Glaw F, Schmidt K (2003). "''Beobachtungen an ''Paragehyra petiti'', einem lange Zeit verschollenen Gecko aus Madagaskar (Sauria: Gekkonidae)''". ''Gekkota'' 4: 34–39. (in German).
*Glaw F, Vences M (1994). ''A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Second Edition''. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag / Serpents Tale. 480 pp. . (''Paragehyra petiti'', p. 277).
* Rösler H (1995). ''Geckos der Welt: Alle Gattungen''. Leipzig, Germany: Urania Verlag. 256 pp. . (''Paragehyra petiti'', p. 139). (in German).
Paragehyra
Reptiles of Madagascar
Reptiles described in 1929
{{gecko-stub