The Durrell's night gecko (''Nactus durrellorum'') 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 ...
to the
Round Island of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''durrellorum'', is in honor of English
zookeeper
A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...
Gerald Durrell
Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...
and his second wife, American-born zookeeper
Lee McGeorge Durrell
Lee McGeorge Durrell (née McGeorge; born September 7, 1949) is an American naturalist, author, zookeeper, and television presenter. She is best known for her work at the Jersey Zoological Park in the British Channel Island of Jersey with h ...
.
Taxonomy
The Durrell's night gecko was described as a subspecies of the
Serpent Island gecko
The Serpent Island gecko (''Nactus serpensinsula'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Mauritius.
The Serpent Island gecko is a monotypic species, it is only found in the Serpent Island of Mauritius. The ...
,
and further erected as a new species in 2000.
[Arnold, E.N. 2000. Using fossils and phylogenies to understand evolution of reptile communities on islands. In: G. Rheinwold (ed.), Isolated Vertebrate Communities in the Tropics, Vol. 46, pp. 309–323. Bonner Zoologische Monographien.]
When naming it as a new subspecies in 1994,
Arnold and Jones used ''durrelli'', which is
genitive singular, as the subspecific name. In 2004 Michels and
Bauer pointed out that because the subspecies is named in honor of two people, the subspecific name should be in the genitive plural. Accordingly, they changed ''durrelli'' to ''durrellorum''.
References
Further reading
*
Arnold EN,
Jones CG (1994). "The night geckos of the genus ''Nactus'' in the Mascarene Islands with a description of the population on Round Island". ''Dodo'' 30: 119–131. (''Nactus serpensinsula durrelli''
ic new subspecies).
*
Loveridge A (1951). "A New Gecko of the Genus ''Gymnodactylus'' from Serpent Island". ''Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington'' 64: 91–92. (''Gymnodactylus serpensinsula'', new species).
*
Michels JP,
Bauer AM (2004). "Some corrections to the scientific names of amphibians and reptiles". ''Bonner Zoologische Beiträge'' 52: 83–94. (''Nactus serpensinsula durrellorum''
ic corrected name).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q81848991
Nactus