''Pachydactylus acuminatus'' 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 ...

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

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 ...

, a family also known as the typical geckos. The species ''P. acuminatus'' 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 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. It was once believed to be a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of Weber's thick-toed gecko (''

Pachydactylus weberi Weber's thick-toed gecko (''Pachydactylus weberi'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa. Etymology The specific name, ''weberi'', is in honor of German-Dutch zoologist Max Wilhelm Carl Web ...

)'' but was lifted to species status in 2006.

Discovery and taxonomy

''Pachydactylus acuminatus'' was originally described by Fitzsimons in 1941 as ''Pachydactylus weberi acuminatus,'' from eight specimens housed in the

Transvaal Museum The Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, formerly the Transvaal Museum, is a natural history museum situated in Pretoria, South Africa. It is located on Paul Kruger Street, between Visagie and Minnaar Streets, opposite the Pretoria City Ha ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

—seven immature individuals and one adult. The position of ''Pachydactylus weberi acuminatus'' was later reassessed by Bauer, who lifted it to species status in 2006.Bauer, A. M., Lamb, T., and Branch, W. R. 2006. A Revision of the ''Pachydactylus serval'' and ''P. weberi'' Groups (Reptilia: Gekkota: Gekkonidae) of Southern Africa, with the Description of Eight New Species. ''

Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

'' 57(23): 595-709. DOI
10.1080/21564574.2017.1398186
Retrieved February 23, 2020.

Distribution

''Pachydactylus acuminatus'' is known only from

, in the Lüderitz, Bethanie, Keetmanshoop, Maltahöhe, and Swakopmund Districts.

References

acuminatus Geckos of Africa Reptiles of Namibia Endemic fauna of Namibia Reptiles described in 1941 Taxa named by Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons {{gecko-stub