''Saltuarius moritzi'', also known
commonly as the New England leaf-tailed gecko or Moritz's leaf-tailed 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
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 ...
Carphodactylidae
The Carphodactylidae, informally known as the southern padless geckos, are a Family (biology), family of geckos, lizards in the infraorder Gekkota. The family consists of 34 described species in 7 Genus, genera, all of which are Endemism, endemic ...
. The species is native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
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 ...
, ''moritzi'', is in honor of Australian herpetologist
Craig Moritz.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Saltuarius moritzi'', p. 183).]
Geographic range
''S. moritzi'' 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 the
New England Tablelands in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
.
Habitat
The preferred
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 ...
s of ''S. moritzi'' are closed forests, wet sclerophyll forests, and rocky escarpments, gorges, and outcrops.
[
]
Description
''S. moritzi'' may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of .[
]
Reproduction
''S. moritzi'' 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
* Cogger HG (2014). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition''. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. .
* Couper, Patrick J.; Sadlier, Ross A.; Shea, Glenn M.; Worthington Wilmer, Jessica (2009). "A Reassessment of ''Saltuarius swaini'' (Lacertilia: Diplodactylidae) in Southeastern Queensland and New South Wales; Two New Taxa, Phylogeny, Biogeography and Conservation". ''Records of the Australian Museum'' 60 (1): 87–118. (''Saltuarius moritzi'', new species, pp. 99–105, Figures 12A, 12B, 12C).
*Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition''. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. .
Saltuarius
Geckos of Australia
Endemic fauna of Australia
Reptiles described in 2008
Taxa named by Patrick J. Couper
Taxa named by Ross Allen Sadlier
Taxa named by Glenn Michael Shea
Taxa named by Jessica Worthington Wilmer
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