''Chondrodactylus angulifer'', also known as the common giant ground gecko, the South African ground gecko, or the Namib sand gecko, is a
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), ...
of
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 ...
, a
lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
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 ...
Gekkonidae
Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...
. 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 southern Africa.
Geographic range
''Chondrodactylus angulifer'' is found in
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
, southernmost
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, and western
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Description
''Chondrodactylus angulifer'' is a large gecko. Adults average snout-to-vent length (SVL). The record size is a male SVL.
[ Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Chondrotactylus angulifer'', pp. 237-238 + Plate79).]
Reproduction
An adult female ''C. angulifer'' may lay a
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
of one or two
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
s. The eggs are almost spherical, . Each hatchling is approximately total length (including tail).
[
]
Subspecies
There are two subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
which are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
.[
* ''Chondrodactylus angulifer'' subsp. ''angulifer''
* ''Chondrodactylus angulifer'' subsp. ''namibensis''
]
References
Further reading
* Haacke WD (1976). "The burrowing geckos of southern Africa, 4 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae). Annotated taxonomic account (cont.) E. Genus ''Chondrodactylus'' Peters". ''Annals of the Transvaal Museum'' 30: 53–70. (''Chondrodactylus angulifer namibensis'', new subspecies).
* Peters W (1870). "''Beitrag zur Kenntnis der herpetologischen Fauna von Südafrika'' ". ''Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zur Berlin'' 1870: 110–115. (''Chondrodactylus angulifer'', new species, p. 111). (in German and Latin).
Chondrodactylus
Reptiles described in 1870
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
{{Gekkonidae-stub