Missone's spider gecko (''Rhinogekko misonnei''),
[ also known commonly as de Witte's gecko, de Witte's spider gecko, Misonne's swollen-nose gecko, and Witte's gecko,]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 native to Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
.[
]
Etymology
The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''misonnei'', is in honor of Xavier Misonne who is a Belgian anthropologist and zoologist.[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Agamura misonnei'', p. 179).]
Geographic range
''R. misonnei'' is found in Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.IUCN Redlist
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
considers its presence in Pakistan uncertain.[
]
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 ''R. misonnei'' is 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 ...
.[
]
Reproduction
''R. misonnei'' 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
* Akbarpour M, Shafiei S (2015). "Range extension of Misonne's swollen-nose gecko, ''Rhinogecko misonnei'' de Witte, 1973 (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in Iran". ''Iranian Journal of Animal Bioststematics'' 11 (2): 179–182.
* de Witte G-F (1973). "''Description d'un Gekkonidae nouveau de l'Iran (Reptilia, Sauria)''". ''Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique'' 49 (1): 1–6. (''Rhinogekko misonnei'', new species). (in French).
* Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). ''The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia''. (Monographs of the ''Societas Herpetologica Italica''). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. . (''Rhinogecko misonnei'', p. 126).
* Šmíd J, Moravec J, Kodym P, Kratochvíl L, Yousefkhani SSH, Rastegar-Pouyani E, Frynta D (2014). "Annotated checklist and distribution of the lizards of Iran". ''Zootaxa'' 3855 (1): 001–097. (''Rhinogekko misonnei'', p. 25).
Rhinogekko
Lizards of Asia
Geckos of Iran
Reptiles of Pakistan
Taxa named by Gaston-François de Witte
Reptiles described in 1973
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