The island least gecko (''Sphaerodactylus sputator'') 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
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
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 the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
.
Geographic range
''S. sputator'' can be found on
Anguilla
Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...
(and some of its satellites),
Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to:
People
* Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France
* Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal)
* Pope Martin I (598–655)
* Saint Mart ...
,
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in English ...
,
Saint Kitts,
Nevis, and
Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius (, ), also known locally as Statia (), is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially " public body") of the Netherlands.
The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, so ...
.
Description
Populations of ''S. sputator'' on Anguilla have a pale pink
dorsal surface, with between five and eight pale crossbands on the back. The throat is pale yellow, and the ventral surface is light cream-colored. It has a gold iris, with a yellow
canthal line.
On Saint Martin, it has a tan dorsal color, with a pearl-colored ventral surface. The tail is pale yellow to orange, and the iris is bronze-colored.
References
Further reading
*
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. (''Sphærodactylus sputator'', pp. 219–220).
*Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999). ''Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean''. Oxford, England:
Macmillan Education Ltd. 144 pp. . (pp. 53, 55–56, 58, 60, 65, 66).
*
Schwartz A,
Thomas R (1975). ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Sphaerodactylus sputator'', p. 162).
*
Sparrman A (1784). "Lacerta sputator ''und'' Lacerta bimaculata, ''zwey neue Eideren aus Amerika'' ". ''Königlich-Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Neue Abhandlungen aus der Naturlehre Haushaltungkunst und Mechanik'' 3 (1): 166-169 + Plate IV. (''Lacerta sputator'', new species, p. 169 + Plate IV, figures 1–3). (in German and Latin).
External links
*
''Sphaerodactylus sputator''at the
Encyclopedia of Life''Sphaerodactylus sputator''at the Reptile Database
Sphaerodactylus
Lizards of the Caribbean
Reptiles described in 1784
{{Sphaerodactylus-stub