''Carphodactylus'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Carphodactylidae The Carphodactylidae, informally known as the southern padless geckos, are a Family (biology), family of geckos, lizards in the infraorder Gekkota. The family consists of 34 described species in 7 Genus, genera, all of which are Endemism, endemic ...

. The genus consists of the sole

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

''Carphodactylus laevis'', commonly known as the chameleon gecko. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the rainforests of northeastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is rated as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

, as it is common (albeit secretive) within its range and occurs within protected areas. It currently experiences no major threats, though long-term

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

may alter or reduce its geographic distribution under some scenarios.

Description

C. laevis has an average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . The head has large labial (lip) scales, relatively small postmental scales (behind the chin), and rounded

rostral Rostral may refer to: Anatomy * Rostral (anatomical term), situated toward the oral or nasal region * Rostral bone, in ceratopsian dinosaurs * Rostral organ, of certain fish * Rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other sca ...

and mental shields (at the tip of the snout). The body and tail are slender and mediolaterally compressed (flattened from the side), with a thin vertebral ridge extending from the nape to the tapered tail. The limbs are long and thin, and the five-toed feet have thin and narrow digits with distinct claws and an angular profile from the side. The claws are surrounded by five enlarged scales at their base. The underside of each digit has a single row of small

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

, each of which are slightly broadened sideways. The genus possesses preanal pores. Coloration includes a broad black streak from the snout to the eye, and a pair of narrower streaks (black above and pale below) towards the tympanum.

Dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

, the head and body are brown, speckled with small paler brown spots and black specks concentrated around the vertebral line. The original tail is dark brown or black with four to five complete whitish vertical crossbands. Cogger, H.G. (2018). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Updated Seventh Edition''. Clayton South VIC, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. 1060 pp. (''Carphodactylus laevis'', p. 262).

Distribution and ecology

''C. laevis'' is found in cool

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s of northeastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, at altitudes of . It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, foraging on the leaf litter or low shrubs at night. ''C. laevis'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

has been used to argue that different ''C. laevis'' populations experienced significant genetic isolation during dry periods in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

, but that this did not result in significant

phenotypic In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...

change between populations.

Etymology

The generic name, ''Carphodactylus'', is Latin meaning "twig finger". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''laevis'', is Latin meaning "smooth".

Gallery

References

External links