Lygodactylus

Lygodactylus is a genus of diurnal geckos with approximately 60 species. They are commonly referred to as dwarf geckos. They are mainly found in Africa and Madagascar although two species are found in South America. Lygodactylus picturatus, the best known species, is found in Kenya and commonly known as the white-headed dwarf gecko.[3] Recently, illegal importation from Tanzania of brightly colored (and critically-endangered), Lygodactylus williamsi, known as electric blue geckos, has been gaining attention for Lygodactylus geckos in the reptile trade.

Lygodactylus
Lygodactylus luteopicturatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Subfamily: Uroplatinae
Genus: Lygodactylus
Gray, 1864[1][2]
Diversity
ca. 60 spp.

Since all trade in wild-caught Lygodactylus williamsi is illegal, shipments of these geckos are often intentionally mislabelled as Lygodactylus spp. or as Lygodactylus capensis.[4] As some customs officials have difficulty identifying members of this genus,[4] a Lygodactylus spp. identification guide has been published online by CITES.[5]

Species

Species in alphabetical order by specific name:[2]

  • Lygodactylus angolensis Bocage, 1896 – Angola dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus angularis Günther, 1893 – angulated dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus arnoulti G. Pasteur, 1965 – Pasteur's dwarf gecko, Arnoult's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus bernardi V. FitzSimons, 1958 – Bernard's dwarf gecko, FitzSimon's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus bivittis (W. Peters, 1883) – tiny scaled gecko
  • Lygodactylus blancae G. Pasteur, 1995 ‡
  • Lygodactylus blanci G. Pasteur, 1967 ‡ – Blanc's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus bonsi G. Pasteur, 1962 – Bons's dwarf day gecko
  • Lygodactylus bradfieldi Hewitt, 1932 – Bradfield's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus broadleyi G. Pasteur, 1995 – Broadley's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus capensis (A. Smith, 1849) – Cape dwarf gecko, common dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus chobiensis V. FitzSimons, 1932 – Okavango dwarf gecko, Chobe dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus conradti Matschie, 1892 – Matschie's dwarf gecko, Conradt's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus conraui Tornier, 1902 – Cameroon dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus decaryi Angel, 1930 – Angel's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus depressus K.P. Schmidt, 1919 – Zaire dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus expectatus G. Pasteur & C. Blanc, 1967 – Ambilobe dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus fischeri Boulenger, 1890 – Fischer's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus grandisonae G. Pasteur, 1962 – Kenya dwarf gecko, Bunty's dwarf gecko, Grandison's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus graniticolus Jacobsen, 1992 – granite dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus gravis G. Pasteur, 1965 – Usambara dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus grotei Sternfeld, 1911 – Grote's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus guibei G. Pasteur, 1965 – western dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus gutturalis (Bocage, 1873) – Uganda dwarf gecko, chevron-throated dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus heterurus Boettger, 1913 – Boettger's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus incognitus Jacobsen, 1992 – cryptic dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus inexpectatus G. Pasteur, 1965 – Dar es Salaam dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus insularis Boettger, 1913 – insular dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus intermedius G. Pasteur, 1995
  • Lygodactylus keniensis Parker, 1936 – Parker's dwarf gecko, Kenya dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus kimhowelli G. Pasteur, 1995 – Kim Howell's dwarf gecko, Tanzanian dwarf gecko, zebra dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus klemmeri G. Pasteur, 1965 – Malagasy dwarf gecko, Klemmer's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus klugei (H.M. Smith, R.L. Martin & Swain, 1977) – Kluge's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus laterimaculatus G. Pasteur, 1964 – side-spotted dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus lawrencei Hewitt, 1926 – Lawrence's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus luteopicturatus G. Pasteur, 1964 – dwarf yellow-headed gecko, yellow-headed dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus madagascariensis (Boettger, 1881) – Madagascar dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus manni Loveridge, 1928 – Mann's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus methueni V. FitzSimons, 1937 – Methuen's dwarf gecko, Woodbrush dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus miops Günther, 1891 – Günther's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus mirabilis (G. Pasteur, 1962)
  • Lygodactylus mombasicus Loveridge, 1935 – white-headed dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus montanus G. Pasteur, 1965 – Mount Ivohibe gecko
  • Lygodactylus montiscaeruli Jacobsen, 1992 – Makgabeng dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus nigropunctatus Jacobsen, 1992 – black-spotted dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus ocellatus Roux, 1907 – ocellated dwarf gecko, spotted dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus ornatus G. Pasteur, 1965 – ornate dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus pauliani G. Pasteur & C. Blanc, 1991 – ornate dwarf gecko
Lygodactylus picturatus in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The tail has been lost due to a self-defense mechanism known as autotomy.
  • Lygodactylus picturatus (W. Peters, 1871) – white-headed dwarf gecko, painted dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus pictus (W. Peters, 1883) – robust dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus rarus G. Pasteur & C. Blanc, 1973 – thin dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus regulus Portik, Travers, Bauer & Branch, 2013 – prince dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus rex Broadley, 1963 – king dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus roavolana Puente, Glaw, Vieites, & Vences, 2009
  • Lygodactylus scheffleri Sternfeld, 1912 – Scheffler's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus scorteccii G. Pasteur, 1959 – Scortecci's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus somalicus Loveridge, 1935 – Somali dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus soutpansbergensis Jacobsen, 1994 – Soutpansberg dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus stevensoni Hewitt, 1926 – Stevenson's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus thomensis (W. Peters, 1881) – Annobon dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus tolampyae (Grandidier, 1872) – Grandidier's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus tsavoensis Malonza, Bauer, Granthon, D. Williams & Wojnowski, 2019 – Tsavo dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus tuberosus Mertens, 1965
  • Lygodactylus verticillatus Mocquard, 1895 – Mocquard's dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus viscatus (Vaillant, 1873) – Howell's dwarf gecko, Copal dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus waterbergensis Jacobsen, 1992 – Waterberg dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus wetzeli H.M. Smith, R.L. Martin & Swain, 1977 – South American dwarf gecko
  • Lygodactylus williamsi Loveridge, 1952 – Williams' dwarf gecko, turquoise dwarf gecko, electric blue gecko
  • Lygodactylus wojnowskii Malonza, Granthon & D. Williams, 2016 – Mt. Kenya dwarf gecko

‡ L. blancae (feminine, genitive, singular) is named for (Ms) Françoise Blanc, a French geneticist; but L. blanci (masculine, genitive, singular) is named for (Mr.) Charles Pierre Blanc, a French herpetologist.[6]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was original described in a genus other than Lygodactylus.

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References
  1. "Lygodactylus ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. Lygodactylus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  3. "Lygodactylus picturatus White-headed Dwarf Gecko". Wildherps.com. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
  4. CITES Proposal for inclusion
  5. TRAFFIC (2011). How to identify Lygodactylus williamsi: A photographic guide to the turquoise dwarf gecko. In: Wildlife Trade Handbook. TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 11–17.
  6. 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. (Lygodactylus blancae and L. blanci, p. 26).

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. (Genus Lygodactylus, pp. 158–159).
  • 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. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Lygodactylus, p. 245).
  • Gray JE (1864). "Notes on some Lizards from South-Eastern Africa, with the Descriptions of several New Species". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864: 58-62. (Lygodactylus, new genus, p. 59).
  • Mezzasalma M, Andreone F, Aprea G, Glaw F, Odierna G, Guarino FM (2016). "Molecular phylogeny, biogeography and chromosome evolution of Malagasy dwarf geckos of the genus Lygodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae)". Zoologica Scripta 46 (1): 42–54.
  • Puente M, Glaw F, Vieites DR, Vences M (2009). "Review of the systematics, morphology and distribution of Malagasy dwarf geckos, genera Lygodactylus and Microscalabotes (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". Zootaxa 2103: 1–76.
  • Röll B, Pröhl H, Hoffmann K-P (2010). "Multigene phylogenetic analysis of Lygodactylus dwarf geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56 (1): 327–335.


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