The tiny scaled gecko (''Lygodactylus bivittis'') 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 ...
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 ge ...
. 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
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
[
]
Taxonomy
''L. bivittis'' was formerly placed in a monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Microscalabotes''. However, molecular data suggested that ''Microscalabotes'' is nested within ''Lygodactylus'', and the genus was synonymized.
Habitat and behavior
''L. bivittis'' occurs in low and mid-elevation humid forests at elevations of above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. It is diurnal and lives in trees. It does not occur in heavily degraded areas and is threatened by the loss and degradation of humid forests in eastern Madagascar.
Reproduction
''L. bivittis'' 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
* Glaw F, Vences M (2006). ''A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition''. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. . (''Microscalabotes bivittis'').
* Peters W (1883). "''Neue Geckonen, darunter drei Arten von ''Scalabotes'', aus der Sammlung des in Madasascar verstorbenen Reisenden J. M. Hildebrandt'' ". ''Sitzungs-Berichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin'' 1883: 27–29. (''Scalabotes bivittis'', new species, p. 28; ''S. hildebrandti'', new species, p. 28). (in German).
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Microscalabotes bivittis'', p. 132). (in German).
Lygodactylus
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
Reptiles of Madagascar
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
Reptiles described in 1883
{{Lygodactylus-stub