Przewalski's wonder gecko (''Teratoscincus przewalskii)'' 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 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
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''przewalskii'', is in honor of Russian explorer and naturalist
Nikolai Mikhailovitch Prjevalsky.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Teratoscincus przewalskii'', p. 212).]
Geographic range
''T. przewalskii'' is found in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
.
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 ''T. przewalskii'' are
desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
and
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
, at altitudes of .
Reproduction
''T. przewalskii'' 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
* Rösler H (1995). ''Geckos der Welt – alle Gattungen''. Leipzig: Urania Verlag. 256 pp. (''Teratoscincus przewalskii'', p. 92). (in German).
* Strauch A (1887). "''Bemerkungen über die Geckoniden-Sammlung im zoologischen Museum der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu St. Petersburg'' ". ''Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, VIIe Série'' Seventh Series35 (2): 1-72. (''Teratoscincus przewalskii'', new species, pp. 71–72). (in German).
* Zhao E, Adler K (1993). ''Herpetology of China''. Oxford, Ohio: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR). 522 pp. . (''Teratoscincus przewalskii'', pp. 185, 304).
Teratoscincus
Reptiles described in 1887
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