Pachydactylus

Pachydactylus is a genus of insectivorous geckos, lizards in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is endemic to Africa, and member species are commonly known as thick-toed geckos.

Thick-toed geckos
P. oshaughnessyi at Lusaka, Zambia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Subfamily: Uroplatinae
Genus: Pachydactylus
Wiegmann, 1834[1]
Synonyms

Colopus W. Peters, 1869[2]
Palmatogecko Andersson, 1908[3]

Description

The genus Pachydactylus is characterised by dilated toe tips, usually with undivided scansors. Body scales are small, granular and non-overlapping, with scattered, large keeled tubercles.

Behavior

Most, if not all, species of Pachydactylus are nocturnal.

Habitat

Pachydactylus species live in a diverse range of habitats.

Diet

Lizards of the genus Pachydactylus feed mainly on arthropods.

Geographic range

The geographic range of the genus Pachydactylus is centred on Southern Africa, with some species reaching East Africa, the northernmost limit of their distribution.

Species

There are 57 species that are recognized as being valid:[4]

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

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References
  1. "Pachydactylus ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. Species Pachydactylus wahlbergii at The Reptile Database . ("Colopus wahlbergii PETERS 1869 is the type species of the genus Colopus.")
  3. Species Pachydactylus rangei at The Reptile Database . ("Palmatogecko rangei [ANDERSSON 1908] is the type species of the genus Palmatogecko.")
  4. "Pachydactylus ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  5. 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. (Pachydactylus barnardi, p. 17; P. weberi, p. 280).

Further reading
  • Bauer AM, Lamb T, Branch WR (2006). "A Revision of the Pachydactylus serval and P. weberi Groups (Reptilia: Gekkota: Gekkonidae) of Southern Africa, with the Description of Eight New Species". Proc. California Acad. Sci. 57 (23): 595–709.
  • 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-XXXi. (Genus Pachydactylus, p. 200).
  • 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 Pachydactylus, pp. 249–250).
  • Wiegmann AFA (1834). Herpetologia Mexicana, seu descriptio amphibiorum Novae Hispaniae, quae itineribus comitis Sack, Ferdinandi Deppe et Chr. Guil. Schiede in Museum Zoologicum Berolinense pervenerunt. Pars prima, saurorum species amplectens. Adiecto systematis saurorum prodromo, additisque multis in hunc amphibiorum ordinem observationibus. Berlin: C.G. Lüderitz. vi + 54 pp. + Plates I-X. (Pachydactylus, new genus, p. 19). (in Latin).


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