Stephen's Island gecko

The Stephen's Island gecko (Toropuku stephensi), also known commonly as the Cook Strait striped gecko,[3] Stephen's sticky-toed gecko, and the striped gecko, is a species of gecko in the monotypic genus Toropuku in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.

Stephen's Island gecko
Stephen's Island gecko on Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Diplodactylidae
Genus: Toropuku
Nielsen, Bauer, Jackman, Hitchmough & Daugherty, 2011
Species:
T. stephensi
Binomial name
Toropuku stephensi
(Robb, 1980)
Synonyms[2]
  • Hoplodactylus stephensi
    Robb, 1980
  • Toropuku stephensi
    — Nielsen et al., 2011

Etymology

The specific name, stephensi, refers to Stephens Island, New Zealand.[4]

Taxonomy

The holotype of T. stephensi is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[5]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of T. stephensi are forest and shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to 225 m (738 ft).[1]

Reproduction

T. stephensi is viviparous.

Conservation status

As of 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the Stephen's Island gecko as Nationally Vulnerable under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[3]

References
  1. Hitchmough R, van Winkel D, Lettink M, Chapple D (2019). "Toropuku stephensi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T10253A120187688. Downloaded on 19 July 2019.
  2. Species Toropuku stephensi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Hitchmough, Rod; Anderson, Peter; Barr, Ben; Monks, Jo; Lettink, Marieke; Reardon, James; Tocher, Mandy; Whitaker, Tony. "Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2012" (PDF). Department of Conservation. The Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Hoplodactylus stephensi, p. 253).
  5. "Hoplodactylus stephensi Robb, 1980; holotype". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 17 July 2010.

Further reading
  • Nielsen, Stuart V.; Bauer, Aaron M.; Jackman, Todd R.; Hitchmough, Rod A.; Daugherty, Charles H. (2011). "New Zealand geckos (Diplodactylidae): Cryptic diversity in a post-Gondwanan lineage with trans-Tasman affinities". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59 (1): 1-22. (Toropuku, new genus; T. stephensi, new combination).
  • Robb, Joan (1980). "Three new species of gekkonid lizards, genera Hoplodactylus Fitzinger and Heteropholis Fischer, from New Zealand". Nat. Mus. New Zealand Rec. 1 (19): 305–310. (Hoplodactylus stephensi, new species).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Hoplodactylus stephensi, p. 90). (in German).


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