The Estado Aragua gecko (''Gonatodes taniae''), also known
commonly as the ring-necked clawed 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
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 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
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
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 ...
, ''taniae'', is in honor of biologist
Tania Cobo who collected the
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Gonatodes taniae'', p. 260).]
Geographic range
''G. taniae'' is found in northwestern Venezuela, in the Venezuelan states of
Aragua,
Carabobo
, anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo''
, image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location within Venezuela
, pushpin_map =
, pushpin_map_ ...
, and
Yaracuy.
[
]
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. taniae'' 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' ...
, at altitudes of .
Behavior
''G. taniae'' is predominantly diurnal.[
]
Reproduction
''G.taniae'' 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
* Rivas GA, Molina CR, Ugueto GN, Barros TR, Barrio-Amorós CL, Kok PJR (2012). "Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist". ''Zootaxa'' 3211: 1–64.
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Gonatodes taniae'', p. 84). (in German).
* Roze J (1963). "''Una nueva especie del genero'' Gonatodes ''(Sauria: Gekkonidae) de Venezuela''". ''Publicaciones Ocasionales del Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas, Venezuela, Zoología'' 5: 1–4. (''Gonatodes taniae'', new species). (in Spanish).
* Schmid M, Feichtinger W, Nanda I, Schakowski R, Visbal Garcia R, Manzanilla Puppo J, Fernández Badillo A (1994). "An extaordinarily low diploid chromosome number in the reptile ''Gonatodes taniae'' (Squamata, Gekkonidae)". ''Journal of Heredity'' 85 (4): 255–260.
Gonatodes
Reptiles described in 1963
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