''Gonatodes'' is a

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 ...

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

dwarf geckos of 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 ...

Sphaerodactylidae The Sphaerodactylidae are a Family (biology), family of geckos (Gekkota) distributed in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as in Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. The fam ...

Description

The majority of the

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), ...

in the genus ''Gonatodes'' are diurnally active, scansorial, and sexually dichromatic, with adult body size (

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

) ranging from for known species. File:Gonatodes humeralis 281628324.jpg, '' Gonatodes humeralis'' File:Gonatodes albogularis01a.jpeg, '' Gonatodes albogularis'' File:Gonatodes concinnatus.JPG, '' Gonatodes concinnatus'',

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

File:Ocellated gecko (Gonatodes ocellatus) male LTo.JPG, Male ocellated gecko ''Gonatodes ocellatus'',

Little Tobago Little Tobago (or Bird of Paradise Island) is a small island off the north-eastern coast of Tobago, and part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Environment The sea between Tobago and Little Tobago is shallow, and glass-bottomed boats enabl ...

File:Ocellated gecko (Gonatodes ocellatus) male LTo 2.JPG, Male ocellated gecko ''Gonatodes ocellatus'',

File:Ocellated gecko (Gonatodes ocellatus) female.JPG, Female ocellated gecko ''Gonatodes ocellatus'',

Diet

The diets of the various species of ''Gonatodes'' are composed mainly of very small arthropods.

Reproduction

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 ...

size is one, with most species producing several clutches per year, and some utilizing communal egg-laying sites.

Habitat

Most species are humid tropical

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, ...

dwelling (some in warm lowlands, and others in somewhat cooler montane regions), with relatively fewer species utilizing more open, drier habitats at forest edge, tropical dry seasonal forest and scrub forest. Some species (usually those that use drier natural habitats) are able to utilize even more open human modified environments; in some cases including highly urbanized areas. ''Gonatodes'' usually spend most of their active hours perched anywhere from ground level to about 0.6 metres (2 feet) above ground, sometimes up to 2 or 3 metres (6.6 or 9.8 feet), on vertical or near vertical surfaces of tree trunks, tree stumps, logs and sometimes rocks (as well as on walls and house-posts for those that are able to use human altered environments). They seldom sit exposed to direct strong sunlight (they do not appear to bask), and most seem to prefer shade / filtered light with less exposure to direct sun light.

Geographic range

Species of ''Gonatodes'' are found in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

including southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, a few Caribbean Islands (including

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and the northern part of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, including

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, parts of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, the islands of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

, and some of the small islands just off the coast of northern South America.

Introduced species

Human mediated introductions have occurred with ''Gonatodes caudiscutatus'' in the Galapagos Islands and ''G. albogularis'' in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. In addition, some species have been transplanted by human activity to various regions within the general range of the genus where the particular species did not previously exist.

Species

The following 34 species are recognized as being valid. Some

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 ...

are also listed. *'' Gonatodes albogularis'' ( A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836) – white-throated clawed gecko, white-throated gecko, yellow-headed gecko **''Gonatodes albogularis albogularis'' (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836) **''Gonatodes albogularis bodinii'' Rivero-Blanco, 1968 **''Gonatodes albogularis notatus'' ( J.T. Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862) *'' Gonatodes alexandermendesi'' Cole & Kok, 2006 *'' Gonatodes annularis'' Boulenger, 1887 – annulated gecko *'' Gonatodes antillensis'' ( Lidth de Jeude, 1887) –

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

gecko, Venezuelan coastal clawed gecko *'' Gonatodes astralis'' Schargel et al., 2010 *''

Gonatodes atricucullaris The Cajamarca gecko (''Gonatodes atricucullaris'') is a species of lizard in the Sphaerodactylidae family found in Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador an ...

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

, 1921 –

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Per ...

gecko *'' Gonatodes castanae'' Carvajal-Cogollo, Eguis-Avendaño & Meza-Joya, 2020 – Castaño's Gecko *'' Gonatodes caudiscutatus'' ( Günther, 1859) – shieldhead gecko *'' Gonatodes ceciliae'' Donoso-Barros, 1966 – brilliant clawed gecko, brilliant South American gecko *'' Gonatodes chucuri'' Meneses-Pelayo & Ramírez, 2020 – Chucuri gecko *'' Gonatodes concinnatus'' ( O'Shaughnessy, 1881) – O'Shaughnessy's gecko *'' Gonatodes daudini'' Powell & Henderson, 2005 –

Grenadines The Grenadines () is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted ...

clawed gecko, Union Island clawed gecko, Union Island gecko Beolens, Bo; Watkin, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Daudin, J.", p. 66; "Haseman", p. 117; "Peters, J.A.", p. 204). *'' Gonatodes eladioi'' Nascimento, Ávila-Pires & Cunha, 1987 – South American gecko *'' Gonatodes falconensis'' Shreve, 1947 – Estado Falcón gecko *'' Gonatodes hasemani''

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

, 1917 – Haseman's gecko *'' Gonatodes humeralis'' ( Guichenot, 1855) – South American clawed gecko,

gecko *'' Gonatodes infernalis'' Rivas & Schargel, 2008 *'' Gonatodes lichenosus'' Rojas-Runjaic et al., 2010 - Perijá lichen gecko *'' Gonatodes ligiae'' Donoso-Barros, 1967 *'' Gonatodes machelae'' Rivero-Blanco & Schargel, 2020 *'' Gonatodes nascimentoi'' Sturaro & Ávila-Pires, 2011 *'' Gonatodes naufragus'' Rivas et al., 2013 – La Blanquilla clawed gecko *'' Gonatodes ocellatus'' (

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, 1831) – eyespot clawed gecko, eyespot gecko, ocellated gecko *'' Gonatodes petersi'' Donoso-Barros, 1967 – Peters' gecko *'' Gonatodes purpurogularis'' Esqueda, 2004 *'' Gonatodes rayito'' Schargel, Rivas, García-Pérez, Rivero-Blanco, Chippindale & Fujita, 2017 *'' Gonatodes riveroi'' Sturaro & Ávila-Pires, 2011 *'' Gonatodes rozei'' Rivero-Blanco & Schargel, 2012 - Roze's gecko *'' Gonatodes seigliei'' Donoso-Barros, 1966 – Estado Sucre gecko *'' Gonatodes superciliaris'' Barrio-Amorós & Brewer-Carías, 2008 - Sarisariñama forest gecko *'' Gonatodes taniae''

Roze Roze may refer to: People *Janis Roze, herpetologist *Jean Roze, French textile producer *Pierre-Gustave Roze (1812–1862), French naval commander *, French mycologist; see Marasmiaceae *Magdalena Roze, Australian meteorologist *Marie Roze, French ...

, 1963 – Estado Aragua gecko, ring-necked clawed gecko *'' Gonatodes tapajonicus''

Rodrigues Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...

, 1980 –

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

gecko *'' Gonatodes timidus'' Kok, 2011 Kok PJR (2011). "A new species of the genus ''Gonatodes'' Fitzinger, 1843 (Reptilia: Sphaerodactylidae) from central Guyana, northern South America". ''Zootaxa'' 3018: 1-12. (''Gonatodes timidus'', new species). *'' Gonatodes vittatus'' ( Lichtenstein, 1856) – striped clawed gecko, Wiegmann's striped gecko ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Gonatodes''.