The Persian spider gecko (''Agamura persica'') hails from semidesert regions of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, where temperatures range from extreme summer day highs to extreme winter night lows.Szczerbak, N.N. & Golubev, M.L. (1986). ''Gecko Fauna of the USSR and Contiguous Regions''. Kyiv: Naukova Dumka. Anderson, Steven C. (1999). ''The Lizards of Iran''. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Its long, slender legs and tail give it a spider-like impression and allow it to climb in its rocky

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. The toes are slender, clawed, and angularly bent. It shares this feature with a number of other species and is classified as an angular-toed gecko. Two other species, ''Agamura femoralis'' (Smith, 1933) and ''Agamura misonnei'' (De Witte, 1973), have been placed in the genus, but Anderson (1999) and Khan (2003) referred them to the genus ''

Rhinogekko ''Rhinogekko'' is a genus of geckos from Iran and Pakistan. Species The genus ''Rhinogekko'' contains two recognized species: *'' Rhinogekko femoralis'' *'' Rhinogekko misonnei'' ''Nota bene'': A binomial authority In taxonomy, binom ...

''.

Diagnostic features

Females range from 42 to 77 mm (SVL), with a tail of 34 to 59 mm, while males range from 35 to 65 mm, with a tail of 27 to 59 mm. ''Agamura persica'' has a light-grey upper body with yellow pigment and five dark crossbars almost as broad as the interspaces, with 9 to 10 on the tail and a flecked grey belly.Khan, M. S. (2006). Amphibians and Reptiles of Pakistan. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing. Some colour and morphological differences exist between localities, but all are distinctly agamuroid.

Subspecies

''Agamura persica'' ssp. ''persica'' is found in the eastern regions of the species' range (eastern Iran, Afghanistan), and is differentiated by "three dark crossbars, first on

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...

, second behind shoulders, third in front of

sacrum The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part ...

". ''Agamura persica'' ssp. ''cruralis'' is found in the western regions (most of Iran) and is differentiated by "five darker brown dorsal crossbars, first on nape, fifth on sacrum, nine to ten on tail".

Natural history

The Persian spider gecko inhabits rocky and stony terrain close to sandy semidesert, on hill slopes and barren plains. It is primarily

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, but can be found during the day basking at temperatures of about 17.5 °C (air) and 15.5 °C (surface), and active at surface temperatures as high as 44 °C. ''Agamuras "well-developed (but immovable) upper 'eyelid is an adaptation to diurnal life. The lid serves as a sort of "sunshade". The Persian spider gecko reaches breeding size at 18 to 24 months of age. Its breeding period is from March to May, eggs are laid in June, and juveniles appear in September.

Sexing

The male ''Agamura persica'' has an obvious hemipenal bulge visual from a side profile. The thin morphology of the gecko makes the bulge even more noticeable. The male also has two to four preanal pores, but a captive-bred male may have none to four. The female lacks a bulge and preanal pores entirely. The juvenile also lacks this bulge, but by about the eighth to 12th week (roughly 7–8 cm SVL) the male juvenile may begin to show slight bulging. It may happen as late as the fourth to sixth month.

Gallery

Agamurapersicanasalscales.jpg, Headshot Agamura persica mating.jpg, Copulation Agamura_persica_digging.png, Female burying eggs Agamura_persica_eggs.png, Eggs agamurapersicahatching.jpg, Hatching

Notes

References

''Agamura persica''.
The Reptile Database. * Khan, M.S. 2003. Anmerkungen zur Morphologie, Verbreitung und den Habitatpräferenzen einiger pakistanischer Geckos. ''Sauria'' 25 (3): 35-47 rratum in 25 (4): 27* Khan, M. S. (2005). An Overview of the Angular-toed Geckos of Pakistan (Squamata: Gekkonidae). ''Gekko'', 4.2. 20-30. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2710183 Agamura Reptiles of Afghanistan Reptiles of Pakistan Geckos of Iran Reptiles described in 1856 Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril