''Altiphylax stoliczkai'', also known commonly as the frontier bow-fingered gecko, the Baltistan gecko, and the Karakorum gecko is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 64 genera. Members of the Gekkonidae comprise many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos ('' Hemidactylus''), tokay g ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''stoliczkai'', is in honor of

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

n zoologist

Ferdinand Stoliczka Ferdinand Stoliczka (Czech written Stolička, 7 June 1838 – 19 June 1874) was a Moravian palaeontologist who worked in India on paleontology, geology and various aspects of zoology, including ornithology, malacology, and herpetology. He died of ...

Geographic range

''A. stoliczkai'' is found in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

( Kashmir, Karoo/ Dras,

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

) and western China. The type locality given by Steindachner is "''bei Karoo, nördlich von Dras, Kashmir'' ".

Habitat

The preferred natural

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 ...

s of ''A. stoliczkai'' are desert,

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

, and rocky areas, at altitudes of .

Reproduction

''A. stoliczkai'' is oviparous.

Taxonomy

Most authorities, most recently Bauer et al. 2013, now consider Böhme's mountain gecko to be a subspecies of this species (''A. s. boehmei)''. Bauer AM, Masroor R, Titus-McQuillan J, Heinicke MP, Daza JD, Jackman TR (2013). "A preliminary phylogeny of the Palearctic naked-toed geckos (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) with taxonomic implications". ''Zootaxa'' 3599 (4): 301-324.

References

* Shcherbak NN (1991). "''Eine neue Gecko-Art aus Pakistan:'' Alsophylax (Alsophylax) boehmei sp. nov." ''Salamandra'' 27 (1): 53-57. (in German). *Shcherbak NN, Golubev ML (1996). ''Gecko fauna of the USSR and contiguous regions.'' SSAR (Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles). (English translation of Russian original published in 1986). * Anderson J (1872). "On some Persian, Himalayan, and other Reptiles". ''Proc. Zool. Soc. London'' 1872: 371-404. * 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-XXXII. ("''Gymnodactylus stoliczkæ'' ic, pp. 30–31). *Boulenger GA (1890). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. ("''Gymnodactylus stoliczkæ'' ic, pp. 63–64). * Ingoldby CM (1922). "A new stone gecko from the Himalaya". ''J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.'' 28: 1051. (''Gymnodactylus walli'', new species). * Khan MS, Rösler H (2000). "Redescription and generic redesignation of the Ladakhian gecko ''Gymnodactylus stoliczkai'' Steindachner, 1969 867. ''Asiatic Herpetological Research'' 8

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...

60-68. *Khan MS (2000). "Redescription and generic redesignation of ''Gymnodactylus stoliczkai'' Steindachner, 1867". ''Pakistan J. Zool.'' 32 (2): 157. * Smith MA (1935). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (''Gymnodactylus stoliczkai'', pp. 57–58). * Steindachner F (1867). "''Reptilien'' ". pp. 1–98. ''In'': von Wüllerstorf-Urbair B (1867) 1869" on title page ''Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859 unter den Befehlen des Commodore B. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair (Zoologie)'', ol. 1, part 3 Vienna: K. Gerold's Sohn/Kaiserlich-Königl. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. (''Gymnodactylus stoliczkai'', new species, pp. 15–16). (in German).

External links

* Altiphylax Lizards of Asia Reptiles of China Reptiles of India Reptiles of Pakistan Reptiles described in 1867 Taxa named by Franz Steindachner {{Gekkonidae-stub