''Phyllodactylus xanti'' 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 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 ...

Phyllodactylidae The Phyllodactylidae are a family of geckos (Gekkota) consisting of over 150 species in 10 genera, distributed throughout the New World, North Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The family was first delineated based on a molecular phylogenetic ...

. It 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 northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is also known as the leaf-toed gecko ( among many other species) or Raza Island leaf-toed gecko when referring to the subspecies from the

Isla Rasa Isla Rasa is an island in the Gulf of California east of the Baja California Peninsula. The island is uninhabited and is part of the Mexicali Municipality. The 0.21 sq./mi island has three small ponds and has small shed located in the center of t ...

; at present, there are altogether four recognized

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 ...

, while several more have been recognized previously.

Geographic range

''P. xanti'' is found in the Baja California Peninsula and associated islands in

. Records from southern California (USA) refer to ''

Phyllodactylus nocticolus The peninsula leaf-toed gecko (''Phyllodactylus nocticolus'') is a medium-sized gecko. It is found in southern California (USA) and Baja California (Mexico), including many islands in Gulf of California as well as Islas Magdalena and Santa Marg ...

'', first described as ''Phyllodactylus xanti nocticolus'', now considered a distinct species.

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 ...

s of ''P. xanti'' are

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

and

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

Description

''P. xanti'' has vertical pupils, immovable eyelids, and leaf-like toe pads. It has a brownish, grey, or pinkish dorsum, with a light venter. The granular dorsal scales are interspersed with

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s. It often squeaks when handled, and it has a very fragile tail which is readily lost. This gecko is between 2.5 and 6.2 cm (1.5 and 2.5 inches) in snout-to-vent length (SVL).

Reproduction

''P. xanti'' 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 ...

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the

nominotypical 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 ...

. *'' Phyllodactylus xanti acorius'' *'' Phyllodactylus xanti sloani'' *'' Phyllodactylus xanti xanti'' *'' Phyllodactylus xanti zweifeli''

Etymology

The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

, ''xanti'', commemorate

John Xantus John Xantus de Vesey a.k.a. de Csíktaplócza ( hu, Csíktaplóczai (Vese) Xántus János, 5 October 1825 – 13 December 1894) was a Hungary, Hungarian exile and zoologist. Xantus (the aristocratic title ''de Vesey'' was an affectation, of which ...

,a.k.a. Louis deVesey (1825–1894). a nineteenth century naturalist active in the United States of America.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Phyllodactylus xanti'', p. 291; ''P. x. sloani'', p. 246; ''P. nocticolus zweifeli'', p. 294). The subspecific names, ''sloani'' and ''zweifeli'', are in honor of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

herpetologists 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 ...

Allan John Sloan and

Richard G. Zweifel Richard George Zweifel (born November 5, 1926 in Los Angeles, died November 25, 2019) was an American herpetologist, who classified several species in the American Southwest and in Australia, including the rattling frog. Zweifel contributed immens ...

, respectively.

Taxonomy

The accepted

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

name and original description were published in 1863 by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...