Sphaerodactylus richardi

Sphaerodactylus richardi, also known commonly as Richard's banded sphaero or the Zapata big-scaled sphaero, is a small species of gecko, a lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to Cuba.[2]

Sphaerodactylus richardi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Sphaerodactylus
Species:
S. richardi
Binomial name
Sphaerodactylus richardi
Hedges & Garrido, 1993

Etymology

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The specific name, richardi, is in honor of American herpetologist Richard Thomas.[3]

Taxonomy

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Sphaerodactylus richardi belongs to the scaber group. Other species in the group are S. oliveri, S. scaber, and S. storeyae.[4]

Description

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Sphaerodactylus richardi may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 31.1 mm (1.22 in). It has large non-overlapping dorsal scales, except for a zone of mid-dorsal granular scales which is three scales wide. Adults have a dorsal color pattern of 5-6 bold dark crossbands on the body.[4]

Habitat

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The preferred habitats of S. richardi are forest, shrubland, and marine intertidal.[1]

Reproduction

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Sphaerodactylus richardi is oviparous.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fong, A. (2017). "Sphaerodactylus richardi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T178451A71746324. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T178451A71746324.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Sphaerodactylus richardi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Sphaerodactylus richardi, p. 221).
  4. ^ a b Hedges & Garrido (1993).

Further reading

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  • Hedges SB, Garrido OH (1993). "A New Species of Gecko (Sphaerodactylus) from Central Cuba". Journal of Herpetology 27 (3): 300–306. (Sphaerodatylus richardi, new species). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Sphaerodactylus richardi, p. 114). (in German).