Tarentola gigas

Tarentola fogoensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Phyllodactylidae
Genus:Tarentola
Species: T. gigas
Binomial name
Tarentola gigas
Bocage
(1875)
Synonyms[1]
  • Tarentola gigas brancoensis,
    Hans Hermann Schleich 1984
  • Tarentola gigas gigas
    Bocage, 1875

Tarentola gigas (English: Giant or Branco wood gecko) is a species of geckos in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, they are founded in the island of São Nicolau and out west in the nearby islets of Branco and Raso.[1] The species was named in by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1875. There are two subspecies.

Etymology

The specific name is named after gigas (from the Greek γίγας (Modern Greek: γίγαντας) for giant)[1]

Description

The wall gecko is about 27 centimeters long and its skin has a grey color.

Stamp

A stamp that showed a species of gecko Tarentola gigas were made in 1986 for Correios de Cabo Verde as well as is two subspecies, the other being brancoensis.

References

Further reading

  • Bocage 1875 : 2. Sur deux reptiles nouveaux de l’Archipel du Cap-Vert [On Two New Reptiles of the Cape Verde Archipelago]. Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes (Journal of Science, Mathematics, Physrics and Nature), Lisbon, vol. 5, p. 108-112
  • Carranza, S., Arnold, E. Nicholas; Mateo, J. A. and L. F. López-Jurado 2000 Long-distance colonization and radiation in gekkonid lizards, Tarentola (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences. Proc. R. Soc. London B 267: 637-649
  • Schleich, 1984 : Die Geckos der Gattung Tarentola der Kapverden (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae) [Geckos of the Tarentola Species in Cape Verde]. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, vol. 68, p. 95-106. (in German)
  • Schleich, H.H. 1987 Herpetofauna caboverdiana. Spixiana Suppl. (no. 12) p. 75
  • Schleich H H 1988 Ascalabotes gigas BOCAGE 1875 (currently Tarentola gigas); proposed conservation of the specific name, by suppression of the senior synonym Tarentola borneensis Gray 1845. Bull. Zool. Nomencl. 45
  • Jesus, J.; Brehm, A. & Harris, D.J. 2002 Relationships of Tarentola (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from the Cape Verde Islands estimated from DNA sequence data. Amphibia-Reptilia 23 (1): 47-54
  • Joger U 1993 On two collections of reptiles and amphibians from the Cape Verde Islands, with descriptions of three new taxa. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 159: 437-444
  • Joger, U. 1984 Die Radiation der Gattung Tarentola in Makaronesien. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 71: 91-111


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.