''Christinus alexanderi'', also known as Alexander's southern gecko or Alexander's marbled gecko, is a species of

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 ...

geckos found in the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to i ...

of Australia. It is one of the many species and subspecies regionally termed as marbled geckos.

Classification

The species is one of three in the genus ''

Christinus ''Christinus'' is a genus of Gekkonidae geckos found in southern regions of Australia. It contains species and subspecies that are regionally termed as marbled geckos. The contrasted patterns of these geckos, marbling, are found in a variety of ...

'', placed in the

(gecko) subfamily

Gekkoninae Gekkoninae is a diverse subfamily of the family Gekkonidae, geckos. It has the most species and genera — over 850 species in 30 genera. ''Hemidactylus'' and ''Cyrtodactylus'' together account for 185 species. Genera The following is a lis ...

, and was first described by

Glen Storr Dr. Glen Milton Storr (22 December 1921 – 26 June 1990) was an Australian ornithologist and herpetologist. He joined the Western Australian Museum in 1962 and became Curator of Ornithology and Herpetology in 1965. He was a member of the Royal ...

in 1987, as ''Phyllodactylus marmoratus alexanderi'', before being elevated to its current status as ''Christinus alexanderi''. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

specimen was collected at Eucla. WAM R281, Eucla, WA 1°43'S 128°53'E

Description

The superficial appearance of this species is similar to that of ''

Christinus marmoratus ''Christinus marmoratus'', also known as marbled gecko or southern marbled gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae (gecko) native to southern mainland of Australia, from Victoria to Western Australia. The species is well adapted to a variety of hab ...

'', the more widespread marbled gecko, but is distinguished by its scales at the nostril and chin. The marbled pattern of the species also gives a resemblance to the ''

Gehyra variegata ''Gehyra variegata'', the tree dtella, variegated dtella or varied dtella, is a species of gecko in the genus ''Gehyra'', native to inland Australia.Michael, D., Lindenmayer, D. (2010). Reptiles of the NSW Murray Catchment: A Guide to Their Ident ...

'', the variegated dtella, which is also found in its distribution range, but this species has claws on all its digits. The contrasted patterns of ''C. alexanderi'' is found in a variety of hues. They are frequently found sheltering under rocks.

Reproduction

The males are recorded as sexually active from January to May, but the females do not produce eggs until the spring, September to October. The female is thought to store sperm through this winter period.

Habitat

The species is endemic to the Nullarbor Plain, occurring in most habitats of the region. This includes coastal limestone and mallee woodlands.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christinus alexanderi Christinus Geckos of Australia Reptiles of Western Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Reptiles described in 1987 Taxa named by Glen Milton Storr