''Lucasium steindachneri'', commonly called the box-patterned gecko or Steindachner's 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 nocturnal, medium-sized

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 ...

Diplodactylidae The Diplodactylidae are a family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and widespread family of geck ...

. The species has a pale strip with three patches of brown along its back. This gecko is terrestrial and only found in arid and semi-arid areas of continental

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 ...

, ''steindachneri'', is in honor of Austrian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

Franz Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian Zoology, zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachne ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Diplodactylus steindachneri'', p. 252).

Description

The box-patterned gecko is a smooth-scaled

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

which grows to a maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , but on average grows to SVL. It has large circular eyes with vertical pupils, and lacks moveable eyelids. Each eye is covered by a clear scale. To clean its eyes it wipes its tongue over these clear scales. The box-patterned gecko can be distinguished by a pale

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

strip running from its eyes down to the base of the tail, containing three oval patches of dark brown colour. It has pale spots and flecks along its sides and a long slender tail, which makes up 70% of its total length. The underneath side of the body and the underneath sides of the limbs are whitish. The feet have five digits with circular discs and large singular terminal plates.

Feeding

The box-patterned gecko feeds on a varying array of

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

such as insects, spiders and scorpions during the night.

Behaviour

When ''D. steindachneri'' is threatened or captured, it will make a barking or hissing sound, open its mouth, and jump towards the predator. If this does not scare the intruder off, it will drop its tail, distracting the predator, and allowing the gecko to escape.

Reproduction

A sexually mature female of ''D. steindachneri'' will lay one to two eggs during one year.

Geographic range and habitat

The box-patterned gecko is distributed across arid and semi-arid areas of Australia within

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and a small patch of eastern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. This is commonly dry open

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

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' ...

s, and mallee country with heavy or stony soils. During the day it shelters in crevices in the ground, and it is most often found in disused insect holes. At night it emerges from its hole to forage for food.

Taxonomy

The family

comprises many species in Australia which are normally no larger than long with five digits that bear circular toe pads.

References

External links

Distribution of box-patterned gecko in AustraliaDistribution of box-patterned geckoBox-patterned gecko imageBox-patterned gecko image
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3014721 Lucasium Reptiles described in 1885 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Geckos of Australia