Xantus leaf-toed gecko

Xantus' leaf-toed gecko
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Phyllodactylidae
Genus:Phyllodactylus
Species: P. xanti
Binomial name
Phyllodactylus xanti
Cope, 1863[2]

Xantus' leaf-toed gecko, or the leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus xanti ), is a species of New World gecko.

Geographic range

P. xanti is found in California and Mexico.

Description

P. xanti has vertical pupils, immovable eyelids, and leaf-like toe pads. It has a brownish, grey, or pinkish dorsum, with a light venter. The granular dorsal scales are interspersed with tubercles.

It often squeaks when handled, and it has a very fragile tail which is readily lost.

This gecko is between 2.5 and 6.2 cm (1.5 and 2.5 inches) in snout-to-vent length (SVL).

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]

  • Phyllodactylus xanti sloani Bostic, 1971
  • Phyllodactylus xanti xanti Cope, 1863
  • Phyllodactylus xanti zweifeli Dixon, 1964

Etymology

The common name, Xantus' leaf-toed gecko, and the specific epithet, xanti, commemorate John Xantus,[4] a nineteenth century naturalist active in the United States of America.[5] It is also referred to, ambiguously, as the leaf-toed gecko.

The subspecific names, sloani and zweifeli, are in honor of American herpetologists Allan John Sloan and Richard G. Zweifel, respectively.[5]

Taxonomy

The accepted scientific name and original description were published in 1863 by Edward Drinker Cope.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Hammerson GA (2007). "Phyllodactylus xanti". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2007: e.T64051A12740152. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64051A12740152.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Phyllodactylus xanti Cope, 1863". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System).
  3. 1 2 Phyllodactylus xanti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database.
  4. ↑ a.k.a. Louis deVesey (1825-1894).
  5. 1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Phyllodactylus xanti, p. 291; P. x. sloani, p. 246; P. nocticolus zweifeli, p. 294).

Further reading

  • Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Phyllodactylus xanti, p. 494 + Plate 391).
  • Cope ED (1863). "Descriptions of new American SQUAMATA, in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15: 100-106. (Phyllodactylus xanti, new species, pp. 102–103).
  • Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Phyllodactylus xanti, pp. 70–71).
  • Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. xiii + 533 pp. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Phyllodactylus xanti, p. 266 + Plate 24 + Map 73).


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