The island least gecko (Sphaerodactylus sputator) is a species of gecko endemic to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
| Island least gecko | |
|---|---|
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| 1921 illustration from St. Kitts | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Sphaerodactylidae |
| Genus: | Sphaerodactylus |
| Species: | S. sputator
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| Binomial name | |
| Sphaerodactylus sputator (Sparrman, 1784)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
Geographic range
editS. sputator can be found on Anguilla (and some of its satellites), Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Sint Eustatius.
Description
editPopulations of S. sputator on Anguilla have a pale pink dorsal surface, with between five and eight pale crossbands on the back. The throat is pale yellow, and the ventral surface is light cream-colored. It has a gold iris, with a yellow canthal line.
On Saint Martin, it has a tan dorsal color, with a pearl-colored ventral surface. The tail is pale yellow to orange, and the iris is bronze-colored.
References
edit- ^ Daltry, J.C., Dewynter, M. & Powell, R. 2016. Sphaerodactylus sputator (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T75605945A115491165. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T75605945A75607949.en. Downloaded on 07 March 2019.
- ^ "Sphaerodactylus sputator ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
edit- 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. (Sphærodactylus sputator, pp. 219–220).
- Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999). Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean. Oxford, England: Macmillan Education Ltd. 144 pp. ISBN 0-333-69141-5. (pp. 53, 55–56, 58, 60, 65, 66).
- Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Sphaerodactylus sputator, p. 162).
- Sparrman A (1784). "Lacerta sputator und Lacerta bimaculata, zwey neue Eideren aus Amerika ". Königlich-Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Neue Abhandlungen aus der Naturlehre Haushaltungkunst und Mechanik 3 (1): 166-169 + Plate IV. (Lacerta sputator, new species, p. 169 + Plate IV, figures 1–3). (in German and Latin).
External links
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Media related to Sphaerodactylus sputator at Wikimedia Commons- Sphaerodactylus sputator at the Encyclopedia of Life
- Sphaerodactylus sputator at the Reptile Database
