''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'', also known
commonly as Nichols least gecko, Nichols dwarf sphaero or the Puerto Rican crescent sphaero, 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 ...
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 ...
. 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
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
.
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 ...
, ''nicholsi'', is in honor of American ichthyologist
John Treadwell Nichols
John Treadwell Nichols (June 11, 1883 – November 10, 1958) was an American ichthyologist and Ornithology, ornithologist.
Life and career
Nichols was born in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Blake (Slocum) and John White T ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'', p. 190).]
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. nicholsi'' are
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, ...
,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
, and
marine intertidal, but it may also be found in introduced vegetation.
Reproduction
''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'' 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
*Grant C
Grant or Grants may refer to:
People
* Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters
** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...
(1931). "The sphaerodactyls of Porto Rico, Culebra and Mona Islands". ''Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Porto Rico'' 15: 199–213. (''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'', new species, p. 204).
* Rösler (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'', p. 113). (in German).
* Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History''. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. . (''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'', p. 511).
*Schwartz A, Thomas R
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas t ...
(1975). ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''. Carnegie Museum of Natural History
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...
Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Sphaerodactylus nicholsi'', p. 156).
Sphaerodactylus
Reptiles of Puerto Rico
Endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
Reptiles described in 1931
Taxa named by Chapman Grant
{{Sphaerodactylus-stub