The Serpent Island gecko (''Nactus serpensinsula'') 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
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
.
The Serpent Island gecko is a
monotypic species
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 ...
, it is only found in the
Serpent Island of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
. The
Durrell's night gecko
The Durrell's night gecko (''Nactus durrellorum'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Round Island of Mauritius.
Etymology
The specific name, ''durrellorum'', is in honor of English zookeeper Gera ...
,
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
Round Island, was previously treated as a subspecies of Serpent Island gecko.
On Mauritius itself, it is only known from fossils.
References
Further reading
*
Arnold EN,
Jones CG (1994). "The night geckos of the genus ''Nactus'' in the Mascarene Islands with a description of the population on Round Island". ''Dodo'' 30: 119-131. (''Nactus serpensinsula durrelli''
ic new subspecies).
*
Loveridge A (1951). "A New Gecko of the Genus ''Gymnodactylus'' from Serpent Island". ''Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington'' 64: 91-92. (''Gymnodactylus serpensinsula'', new species).
*
Michels JP,
Bauer AM (2004). "Some corrections to the scientific names of amphibians and reptiles". ''Bonner Zoologische Beiträge'' 52: 83-94. (''Nactus serpensinsula durrellorum''
ic corrected name).
Nactus
Reptiles of Mauritius
Reptiles described in 1951
Endemic fauna of Mauritius
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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