''Aristelliger hechti'', known
commonly as Hecht's Caribbean gecko or the Caicos gecko, is a
species of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
in the
family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is
endemic to the
Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and nor ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''hechti'', is in honor of American evolutionary biologist
Max Knobler Hecht
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) (1 ...
(1925–2002).
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Aristelliger hechti'', p. 119).]
Geographic range
The
holotype of ''A. hechti'' was collected on
Little Ambergris Cay
Big Ambergris Cay is a private residential island and home to Ambergris Cay Private Island Resort, located within the Turks and Caicos Islands. Not to be confused with Ambergris Caye in Belize, Big Ambergris Cay is situated to the southeast of th ...
,
Turks and Caicos Islands.
[
]
Reproduction
''A. hechti'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Schwartz, Albert; Crombie, Ronald I. (1975). "A New Species of the Genus ''Aristelliger'' (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the Caicos Islands". ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 88: 305–314. (''Aristelliger hechti'', new species).
*Schwartz, Albert; Henderson, Robert W. (1991). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History''. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. . (''Aristelliger hechti'', p. 362).
Aristelliger
Reptiles described in 1975
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