Biology:Goggia essexi

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Short description: Species of lizard

Goggia essexi
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Goggia
Species:
G. essexi
Binomial name
Goggia essexi
(Hewitt, 1925)
Goggia essexi distribution.png
Synonyms[1]
  • Phyllodactylus essexi
    Hewitt, 1925
  • Phyllodactylus lineatus essexi
    — Hewitt, 1937
  • Phyllodactylus essexi
    — Branch, Bauer & Good, 1995
  • Goggia essexi
    — Bauer, Good & Branch, 1997

Goggia essexi, also known commonly as Essex's dwarf leaf-toed gecko, Essex's leaf-toed gecko, and Essex's pygmy gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to South Africa .[1]

Etymology

The specific name, essexi, is in honor of South African herpetologist Robert Essex.[2]

Geographic range

G. essexi is found in Eastern Cape province, South Africa.[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. essexi is rocky areas in shrubland.[3]

Description

G. essexi is very small for its genus. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 2.0–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in), with a tail slightly longer than SVL. The maximum recorded SVL is 2.84 cm (1.12 in).[4]

Reproduction

G. essexi is oviparous.[1] Sexually mature females lay eggs in a communal site under a rock.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Goggia essexi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN:978-1-4214-0135-5. (Goggia essexi, p. 85).
  3. 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named iucn status 18 November 2021
  4. 4.0 4.1 Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN:0-88359-042-5. (Goggia essexi, p. 240 + Plate 108).

Further reading

  • Bauer AM, Good DA, Branch WR (1997). "The taxonomy of the southern African leaf-toed geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with a review of Old World Phyllodactylus and the description of five new genera". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 49 (14): 447–497. (Goggia essexi, new combination, p. 470).
  • Branch WR, Bauer AM, Good DA (1995). "Species limits in the Phyllodactylus lineatus complex (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), with the elevation of two taxa to specific status and the description of two new species". Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa 44 (2): 33–54. (Phyllodactylus essexi).
  • Hewitt J (1925). "On some new species of Reptiles and Amphibians from South Africa". Records of the Albany Museum, Grahamstown 3: 343–370. (Phyllodactylus essexi, new species, p. 343).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Goggia essexi, p. 83). (in German).


Wikidata ☰ Q5084978 entry