The western dwarf gecko (''Lygodactylus guibei'') is a small
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, a
lizard in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
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 g ...
. 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 else ...
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 ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''guibei'', is in honor of
French 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 rep ...
Jean Marius René Guibé
Jean Marius René Guibé was a French naturalist, especially a herpetologist. He was born on 18 February 1910 in Paris and died on 4 May 1999 in Caen. He was professor at the Paris National Museum of Natural History.
The frogs '' Boophis guibei ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Lygodactylus guibei'', p. 111).]
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 ''L. guibei'' 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 .
Reproduction
''L. guibei'' is
oviparous.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Glaw F, Vences M (1994). ''A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Second Edition''. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag / Serpents Tale. 480 pp. .
* Pasteur G (1965). "''Notes préliminaires sur les lygodactyles (gekkonidés). IV. Diagnoses de quelques formes africaines et malgaches'' ". ''Bulletin du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris'' 36: 311–314. (''Lygodactylus guibei'', new species). (in French).
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Lygodactylus guibei'', p. 93). (in German).
Lygodactylus
Reptiles described in 1965
Reptiles of Madagascar
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
{{Lygodactylus-stub