The South American gecko (''Gonatodes eladioi'') 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
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
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Sphaerodactylidae
The Sphaerodactylidae are a family of geckos (Gekkota) distributed in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as in Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. The family contains 12 li ...
. 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 elsew ...
to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''eladioi'', is in honor of Brazilian zoologist
Eladio da Cruz Lima (1900–1943).
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Gonatodes eladioi'', p. 82).]
Geographic range
''Gonatodes eladioi'' is found in the Brazilian states of
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP.
Neighboring ...
[ and ]Pará
Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
.[
]
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 ...
of ''G. eladioi'' is forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
.[
]
Description
''Gonatodes eladioi'' may attain a snout-to-vent length of .[
]
Behavior
''Gonatodes eladioi'' is diurnal.[
]
Reproduction
''Gonatodes eladioi'' 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
* Ávila-Pires TCS (1995). "Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata)". ''Zoologische Verhandelingen'' (299): 1–706. (''Gonatodes eladioi'', p. 264).
* Gamble T, Simons AM, Colli GR, Vitt LJ (2008). "Tertiary climate change and the diversification of the Amazonian gecko genus ''Gonatodes'' (Sphaerodactylidae, Squamata)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 46 (1): 269–277.
* Nascimento FP, Ávila-Pires TCS, Cunha OR (1987). "''Os repteis da area de Carajas, Pará, Brasil (Squamata)''". ''Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Nova Serie Zoologia'' 3 (1): 33–65. (''Gonatodes eladioi'', new species). (in Portuguese).
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Gonatodes eladioi'', p. 84). (in German).
Gonatodes
Reptiles described in 1987
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