Wahlberg's Kalahari gecko (''Pachydactylus wahlbergii''), also known
commonly as the Kalahari ground 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 ...
Gekkonidae
Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...
. The species is native to southern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.
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 ...
, ''wahlbergii'', is in honor of Swedish naturalist
Johan August Wahlberg
Johan August Wahlberg (9 October 1810, in Lackarebäck, Sweden – 6 March 1856, in Lake Ngami, Bechuanaland) was a Swedish naturalist and explorer. Wahlberg started studying chemistry at the University of Uppsala in 1829, and later forestry, a ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Colopus wahlbergii'', p. 278).]
Geographic range
''P. wahlbergii'' is found in
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
,
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Description
''P. wahlbergii'' is small, elongate, and pretty.
Snout-to-vent length (SVL) of adults is .
[ 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. . (''Colopus wahlbergii'', pp. 238–239 + Plate 80).]
Reproduction
''P. wahlbergii'' 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 ...
.
[ The adult female lays a ]clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
of two eggs.[
]
Subspecies
The genus contains two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
, which are recognized as being valid:[
*''Pachydactylus wahlbergii furcifer''
*''Pachydactylus wahlbergii wahlbergii''
]
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I-XXXII. (''Colopus wahlbergii'', p. 208).
* Haacke WD (1976). "The burrowing geckos of southern Africa, 3 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae). Annotated taxonomic account (cont.) D. Genus ''Colopus'' Peters". ''Annals of the Transvaal Museum'' 30: 29–39. (''Colopus wahlbergii furcifer'', new subspecies).
* Peters W (1869). "''Eine Mittheilung über neue Gattungen und Arten von Eidechsen'' ". ''Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zur Berlin'' 1869: 57-66 + one plate. (''Colopus wahlbergii'', new species, p. 57 + figures 1, 1a-1f). (in German and Latin).
wahlbergii
Reptiles described in 1869
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
{{Gekkonidae-stub