''Eurydactylodes occidentalis'', the western chameleon 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, a
lizard in the
family Diplodactylidae. 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
Grande Terre in
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
.
Etymology
The word ''occidentalis'', meaning "western", refers to the apparent restriction of the species along the west coast of
South Province on Grande Terre.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...
of ''E. occidentalis'' is
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, at an altitude of .
[
]
Description
''E. occidentalis'' is the smallest species in its 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 ...
. Its maximum recorded snout-to-vent length (SVL) is only .[
]
Reproduction
''E. occidentalis'' 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 ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Bauer AM, Jackman TR, Sadlier RA, Whitaker AH (2009). "Review and phylogeny of the New Caledonian diplodactylid gekkotan genus ''Eurydactylodes'' Wermuth, 1965, with the description of a new species". ''Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle'' 198: 13–36. (''Eurydactylodes occidentalis'', new species).
* Langner C, Schönecker P (2018). "Pacific Lost World – ''die weniger bekkante, gefährdete Geckofauna Neukaledoniens'' ". ''Terraria-Elaphe'' (69): 14–26. (in German).
Eurydactylodes
Geckos of New Caledonia
Reptiles described in 2009
Taxa named by Aaron M. Bauer
Taxa named by Todd R. Jackman
Taxa named by Ross Allen Sadlier
Taxa named by Anthony Whitaker
{{Diplodactylidae-stub