''Tarentola protogigas'' 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 ...

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 ...

s 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 ...

. 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 ...

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, where it is found on the islands Fogo, Brava and the smaller

Ilhéus Secos Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the most important touris ...

The species was named by

Ulrich Joger Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of A ...

in 1984.

Taxonomy

Previously a subspecies ''

Tarentola rudis ''Tarentola rudis'' is a species of geckos in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is endemic to Cape Verde, where it occurs in the southern part of the island of Santiago and on the Ilhéu de Santa Maria. The species was described as a vari ...

protogigas'', it was elevated to species status in 2012. Also, ''Tarentola rudis hartogi'' was placed under this species as ''Tarentola protogigas hartogi''.Vasconcelos, Perera, Geniez, Harris & Carranza,
An integrative taxonomic revision of the Tarentola geckos (Squamata, Phyllodactylidae) of the Cape Verde Islands.
' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, vol. 164, no. 2, p. 328-360

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognised: *''Tarentola protogigas hartogi'' Joger, 1993 - Brava and Ilhéus Secos *''Tarentola protogigas protogigas'' Joger, 1984 - Fogo

References

protogigas Geckos of Africa Endemic vertebrates of Cape Verde Fauna of Fogo, Cape Verde Fauna of Brava, Cape Verde Reptiles described in 1984 Taxa named by Ulrich Joger {{gecko-stub