''Pachydactylus austeni'', also known
commonly as Austen's thick-toed gecko or Austen's gecko, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of small
thick-toed gecko, a
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
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 ...
. The species is indigenous to the western coast of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''austeni'', is in honour of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
topographer
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...
Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen FRS FZS FRGS MBOU (6 July 1834 – 2 December 1923), known until 1854 as Henry Haversham Austen, was an English topographer, surveyor, naturalist and geologist.
He explored the mountains ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Pachydactylus austeni'', p. 13).
Habitat, behaviour and diet
The natural habitat of ''P. austeni'' is coastal dunes and alluvial sands, at elevations up to .
It lives in a tiny burrow that it digs in the sand, and it leaves its burrow at night to forage for small insects among the dune vegetation.
Description
''P. austeni'' has a smooth, colourful body with large eyes and conspicuous yellow or white eyelids.
Reproduction
''P. austeni'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Pachydactylus austeni'', pp. 250–251 + Plate 82).
* Hewitt J (1923). "Descriptions of Two New S. African Geckos of the Genus ''Pachydactylus'' ". ''Annals of the Natal Museum'' 5: 67–71. (''Pachydactylus austeni'', new species, pp. 67–69 + Plate IV, figures 1 & 2).
* Loveridge A (1947). "Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Gekkonidae". ''Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College'' 98 (1): 1–469 + Plates 1–7. (''Pachydactylus austeni'', p. 349).
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Pachydactylus austeni'', p. 98). (in German).
A
Endemic reptiles of South Africa
Natural history of Cape Town
Taxa named by John Hewitt (herpetologist)
Reptiles described in 1923
Lizards of Africa
Reptiles of South Africa
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