The Barahona big-scaled sphaero (''Sphaerodactylus plummeri''), also known commonly as the Barahona big-scaled geckolet, is a species 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 Sphaerodactylidae. The species, which is a very small

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

, is endemic to the Dominican Republic.

Taxonomic history

Originally described as a species new to science in 1992 by herpetologists

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and Blair Hedges, it is named after Nicholas Plummer who was one of the collectors of the holotype. (''Sphaerodactylus plummeri'', new species).

Morphology

''S. plummeri'' is a relatively small species of '' Sphaerodactylus'' that has very large, flattened, keeled dorsal scales."''Sphaerodactylus plummeri'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. This character is diagnostic, and distinguishes this species from '' S. streptophorus'', '' S. armstrongi'' and '' S. ariasae'', all of which are closely related to ''S. plummeri'', but have considerably smaller dorsal scales. Dosal ground color is pale brownish to grayish, distinctly speckled with darker brown to black scales. These markings can be aligned forming fragmented dorsolateral stripes which are more defined in the

scapular The scapular (from Latin ''wikt:scapula#Latin, scapulae'', "shoulders") is a Western Christianity, Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the Monasticism, monastic and Catholic devotions, devot ...

and

sacral region The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part ...

. This species is

sexually dichromatic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most anim ...

, as males usually develop orange heads as they mature.

Distribution and habitat

Sphaerodactylus plummeri distribution map

''S. plummeri'' is endemic to the south-western portions of the Barahona peninsula. This species inhabits karstic,

xeric scrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

at altitudes of .

Ecology

''S. plummeri'' is a terrestrial species that has been found under piles of organic debris including the decaying rosettes of dead '' Agave'', and under piles of dry

palm fronds Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

. It is sympatric with other reptiles including another species of the same genus, '' S. thompsoni.'' Although they share the same habitat, niche segregation is especially evident in these two species, as ''S. plummeri'' is usually associated with decaying organic matter, while ''S. thompsoni'' is saxicolous and associated with the karst itself. Other reptiles and amphibians known to be

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

with ''S. plummeri'' include: ''

Leiocephalus barahonensis ''Leiocephalus barahonensis'', commonly known as the orange-bellied curlytail or Barahona curlytail lizard, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Leiocephalidae (curly-tailed lizard). It is endemic to Hispaniola, including some ou ...

'', ''

Anolis brevirostris ''Anolis brevirostris'', the desert gracile anole or shortnose anole, is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is found in Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; ...

'', ''A. olssoni'', '' A. longitibialis'', ''Pholidoscelis lineolatus'', ''P. taeniurus'', ''P. chrysolaemus'', '' Celestus curtissi'', ''

Hypsirhynchus parvifrons ''Hypsirhynchus'' is a genus of snakes of the subfamily Dipsadinae. found on Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and the Bahamas. Species * ''Hypsirhynchus ater'' (Gosse, 1851) * ''Hypsirhynchus callilaemus'' (Gosse, 1851) * ...

'', ''

Uromacer frenatus ''Uromacer frenatus'', the slender Hispaniolan vine snake or island pointed snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Hispaniola in the West Indies. Geographic range ''U. frenatus'' is found in Haiti an ...

'' and ''Eleutherodactylus alcoae''. ''S. plummeri'' 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 ...

Images

File:Sphaerodactylus plummeri female 51002204385 176ecdef03 o.jpg, Adult female ''Sphaerodactylus plummeri'' from Parque Nacional Jaragua, Dominican Republic. File:Sphaerodactylus plummeri male 51071479142 62c5b80a94 o.jpg, Adult male ''Sphaerodactylus plummeri'' from Parque Nacional Jaragua, Dominican Republic.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3010213

Plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

Lizards of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of the Dominican Republic Reptiles of the Dominican Republic Reptiles described in 1992