Oedura

Oedura is a genus of medium to large geckos, lizards in the family Diplodactylidae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Species in the genus are referred to by the common name velvet geckos.

Oedura
Ocellated velvet gecko (Oedura monilis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Diplodactylidae
Genus: Oedura
J. E. Gray, 1842[1]

Geographic range

Most of the species of Oedura occur in northern and eastern Australia, with further isolates in the arid zone (Pilbara, Central Ranges and Flinders Ranges).

Behaviour and habitat

Geckos of the genus Oedura are mostly arboreal and nocturnal, and have flattened bodies that are distinctly patterned. They are secretive tree or rock dwellers, usually concealing themselves beneath peeling bark or in cracks and crevices. A species found in the Kimberley region, Oedura filicipoda, is named for the plumose fringing on the toes that may assist in clinging to rocky overhangs.[2] All species are adapted to their dry conditions and can go for months without food or water.

Taxonomy

The content of the genus Oedura has been reduced by Oliver et al. in 2012, when they transferred four species to the genus Amalosia and erected two new monotypic genera, Hesperoedura for Oedura reticulata and Nebulifera for Oedura robusta.[3]

Species

The type species for the genus is Oedura marmorata, first described by John Edward Gray in 1842.[4] The following is a list of the 18 valid species:[5]

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

Species formerly in Oedura
Oedura lesueurii now belongs to the genus Amalosia

Transferred to genus Amalosia Wells & Wellington, 1983:

Transferred to genus Hesperoedura Oliver et al., 2012:

  • Oedura reticulata – reticulated velvet gecko, valid as Hesperoedura reticulata (Bustard, 1969)

Transferred to genus Nebulifera Oliver et al., 2012:

  • Oedura robusta – robust velvet gecko, valid as Nebulifera robusta (Boulenger, 1885)
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References
  1. Reptile Database
  2. Browne-Cooper, Robert; Bush, Brian; Maryan, Brad; Robinson, David (2007). Reptiles and Frogs in the Bush: Southwestern Australia. University of Western Australia Press. pp. 121, 122. ISBN 978-1-920694-74-6.
  3. Oliver PM, Bauer AM, Greenbaum E, Jackman TR, Hobbie T (2012). "Molecular phylogenetics of the arboreal Australian gecko genus Oedura Gray 1842 (Gekkota: Diplodactylidae): Another plesiomorphic grade?" Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63: 255-264.
  4. Gray JE (1842). "Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian Reptiles and Batrachians". Zoological Miscellany (London: Treuttel, Würtz & Co.) 2: 51–57. (Œdura new genus, p. 52; Œdura marmorata, new species, p. 52).
  5. Oedura at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
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