''Gymnodactylus amarali'' 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 ...
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 ...
Phyllodactylidae
The Phyllodactylidae are a family of geckos (Gekkota) consisting of 163 species in 10 genera, distributed throughout the New World, North Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The family was first delineated based on a molecular phylogenetic analys ...
. 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
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 ...
.
Their main consumption comes from termites that are found in their environment.
Etymology
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 ...
, ''amarali'', is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist
Afrânio Pompílio Gastos do Amaral
Afrânio is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Pernambuco. It is the westernmost municipality of Pernambuco. It is located in the mesoregion of ''São Francisco River, São Francisco Pernambucano'' . Afrânio has a ...
.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Gymnodactylus amarali'', p. 7).]
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 ''G. amarali'' is
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
.
[ Most commonly, the amarali habitats the Cerrado, a tropical savanna in Brazil.]
Reproduction
''G. amarali'' 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
* Barbour T (1925). "New Neotropical Lizards". ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 38: 101–102. (''Gymnodactylus amarali'', new species, pp. 101–102).
* Cassimiro J, Rodrigues MT (2009). "A new species of lizard genus ''Gymnodactylus'' Spix
Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix (9 February 1781 – 13 March 1826) was a German natural history, biologist. From his expedition to Brazil, he brought to Germany a large variety of specimens of plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians and fish. ...
, 1825 (Squamata: Gekkota: Phyllodactylidae) from Serra do Sincorá, northeastern Brazil, and the status of ''G. carvalhoi'' Vanzolini, 2005". ''Zootaxa'' 2008: 38–52. (''Gymnodactylus carvalhoi'' considered a synonym of ''Gymnodactylus amarali)''. (in English, with an abstract in Portuguese).
* Vanzolini PE (1953). "''Sôbre a diferenciação geográfica de ''Gymnodactylus geckoides'' (Sauria, Gekkonidae)''". ''Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo'' 11 (14): 225–262. (''Gymnodactylus geckoides amarali'', new status). (in Portuguese).
*Vanzolini PE (2005). "On ''Gymnodactylus amarali'' Barbour, 1925, with the description of a new species (Sauria, Gekkonidae)". ''Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências'' 77 (4): 595–611. (''Gymnodactylus carvalhoi'', new species).
Gymnodactylus
Geckos of Brazil
Endemic reptiles of Brazil
Reptiles described in 1925
Taxa named by Thomas Barbour
{{gecko-stub