Greeff's giant gecko (''Hemidactylus greeffii)'', also known commonly as Greeff's gecko, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...

. The species is found on islands in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

off the east coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

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 ...

, ''greeffii'', is in honor of German zoologist

Richard Greeff Richard Greeff (14 March 1828, Elberfeld – 30 August 1892, Marburg) was a German zoologist. He studied medicine in Würzburg, Heidelberg and Berlin, receiving his medical doctorate in 1857. Following graduation, he worked as a hospital assi ...

, Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Hemidactylus greeffii'', p. 107). who collected the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

when he lived on

São Tomé Island São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts of São Tomé and Príncipe, districts. It is located ...

in 1879–1880. Bocage JVB (1886).

Geographic range

''H. greeffii'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the island of São Tomé and the associated islet of

Ilhéu das Rolas Ilhéu das Rolas (also: ''Ilheu Gago Coutinho'') is an islet in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the Equator, off the southern tip of São Tomé Island, separated by Canal das Rolas. Its maximum elevation is . I ...

, both in the nation of

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

. It does not occur on the island of

Príncipe Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...

Habitat

''H. greeffii'' is found at altitudes from sea level to . Although its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

at these elevations has been disturbed, it is still found on tree trunks, stone walls, concrete structures such as culverts and tunnels, and on the exterior of buildings. Unlike other gecko species, it does not live inside inhabited houses.

Reproduction

''H. greeffii'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Taxonomy

The species ''H. greeffii'' was described and named by

José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (2 May 1823 – 3 November 1907) was a Portuguese zoologist, politician, and professor. He served as a professor of zoology and director of the National Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon, National Museu ...

in 1886.

References

External links

* greeffii Fauna of São Tomé Island Endemic vertebrates of São Tomé and Príncipe Ilhéu das Rolas Reptiles described in 1886 Taxa named by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage {{Hemidactylus-stub