Rhoptropus bradfieldi

Rhoptropus bradfieldi
	A Bradfield's Namib day gecko on a rock, Namibia, 2008
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Rhoptropus
Species:	R. bradfieldi
Binomial name
	Rhoptropus bradfieldi; Hewitt, 1935

Bradfield's Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus bradfieldi) is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.[1] This species was first described in 1935 by the British-born, South African zoologist John Hewitt, who gave it the name Rhoptropus bradfieldi in honour of the South African naturalist and collector R.D. Bradfield.[2]

Description

Rhoptropus bradfieldi has a maximum snout-to-vent length of about 60 mm (2.4 in), and a total length of about 100 to 130 mm (4 to 5 in). The dorsal surface is greyish-brown, indistinctly barred and dappled, and the ventral surface is bluish-grey. There are eleven scansors (specialist structures for adhesion) under the middle toe. This gecko is similar in appearance to the Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus afer), but that species is slightly smaller, has bright yellow underparts and only six scansors under the middle digit.[3] The difference in scansor number between the two species, and the much shorter setae from which the scansors are formed in R. afer, are reflected in different lifestyles; R. bradfieldi, with more-adhesive feet, is a crevice-dweller with a slow, climbing lifestyle, while R. afer is much more terrestrial, running rapidly on the ground and jumping from rock to rock.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Rhoptropus bradfieldi is endemic to Namibia. Its typical habitat is rocks and boulders in arid regions of the Namib Desert.[5]

Ecology

Rhoptropus bradfieldi is a diurnal lizard and is an ambush predator of small arthropods. Its body is maintained at a high but steady temperature while it is active. It has a low field metabolic rate, about 26% of that of other desert lizards, but a relatively high water intake, which it probably fulfils from the fogs that often occur near the coast.[5]

gollark: Weird that everyone suddenly started closing borders *now* given that it's apparently been around and known about somewhat for two weeks or so.

gollark: The report doesn't mention anything about vaccines but the article says they'll keep working, as only ~~one bit~~ some of the spike protein changed.

gollark: The BBC article (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55388846) talking about it links this report on it: https://khub.net/documents/135939561/338928724/SARS-CoV-2+variant+under+investigation%2C+meeting+minutes.pdf/962e866b-161f-2fd5-1030-32b6ab467896?t=1608470511452

gollark: *Up to* 70% faster, but it's still quite worrying and it appears that a bunch of travel out of the country has been shut down.

gollark: Apparently flu season was much better than usual in the southern hemisphere this year.

References

Rhoptropus bradfieldi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 July 2016.
Bo Beolens; Michael Watkins & Michael Grayson (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. JHU Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-4214-0227-7.
Branch, Bill (2016). Pocket Guide Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-77584-377-1.
Johnson, Megan K. & Russell, Anthony P. (2009). "Configuration of the setal fields of Rhoptropus (Gekkota: Gekkonidae): functional, evolutionary, ecological and phylogenetic implications of observed pattern". Journal of Anatomy. 214 (6): 937–955. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01075.x. PMC 2705302.
Murray, Ian W.; Fuller, Andrea; Lease, Hilary M.; Mitchell, Duncan; Wolf, Blair O. & Hetem, Robyn S. (2015). "Low field metabolic rates for geckos of the genus Rhoptropus may not be surprising". Journal of Arid Environments. 113: 35–42. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.09.006.

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[RDB-1] Rhoptropus bradfieldi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 July 2016.

[Beolens-2] Bo Beolens; Michael Watkins & Michael Grayson (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. JHU Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-4214-0227-7.

[Branch-3] Branch, Bill (2016). Pocket Guide Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-77584-377-1.

[4] Johnson, Megan K. & Russell, Anthony P. (2009). "Configuration of the setal fields of Rhoptropus (Gekkota: Gekkonidae): functional, evolutionary, ecological and phylogenetic implications of observed pattern". Journal of Anatomy. 214 (6): 937–955. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01075.x. PMC 2705302.

[Murray-5] Murray, Ian W.; Fuller, Andrea; Lease, Hilary M.; Mitchell, Duncan; Wolf, Blair O. & Hetem, Robyn S. (2015). "Low field metabolic rates for geckos of the genus Rhoptropus may not be surprising". Journal of Arid Environments. 113: 35–42. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.09.006.