Shreve's least gecko (''Sphaerodactylus shrevei''), also known
commonly as the northwest Haiti blotched sphaero and the northwest Haitian blotched geckolet, is an
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
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), ...
of
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 ...
Sphaerodactylidae
The Sphaerodactylidae are a Family (biology), family of geckos (Gekkota) distributed in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as in Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. The fam ...
. The species 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
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
.
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 ...
, ''shrevei'', is in honor of American herpetologist
Benjamin Shreve
Benjamin Shreve (1908–1985) was an American amateur herpetologist. He was from a wealthy Boston family of jewellers (partners and managers of Shreve, Crump & Low) and worked at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology as a volunteer. He was ...
.
Habitat
The preferred 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 ...
s of ''S. shrevei'' are
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
and rocky areas, at altitudes from sea level to .
Description
Dorsally
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...
, ''S. shrevei'' is ash gray, with a dorsal pattern that is blotched (rather than lineate). Ventrally, it is uniform white. Adult females may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Adult males are smaller, attaining an SVL of .
[ Schwartz, Albert; Graham, Eugene D., Jr. (1980). "The ''shrevei'' group of Hispaniolan ''Sphaerodactylus'' (Reptilia, Gekkonidae)". ''Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany'' 22 (1): 1-15. (''Sphaerodactylus shrevei'', pp. 3-4).]
Reproduction
''S. shrevei'' 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 ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Lazell JD (1961). "A New Species of ''Sphaerodactylus'' from Northern Haiti". ''Breviora'' (139): 1–5. (''Sphaerodactylus shrevei'', new species).
* Rösler H (2000). "''Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)''". ''Gekkota'' 2: 28–153. (''Sphaerodactylus shrevei'', p. 114). (in German).
* Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History''. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. . (''Sphaerodactylus shrevei'', p. 535).
*Schwartz A, Thomas R
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas t ...
(1975). ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''. Carnegie Museum of Natural History
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...
Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Sphaerodactylus shrevei'', p. 162).
Sphaerodactylus
Endemic fauna of Haiti
Reptiles of Haiti
Reptiles described in 1961
{{Sphaerodactylus-stub