Black-eyed gecko

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Black-eyed gecko
Mokopirirakau kahutarae by Gregory H Sherley.jpg
CITES Appendix III (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Diplodactylidae
Genus: Mokopirirakau
Species:
M. kahutarae
Binomial name
Mokopirirakau kahutarae
(A. Whitaker, 1985)
Synonyms [3]
  • Hoplodactylus kahutarae
    A. Whitaker, 1985
  • Mokopirirakau kahutarae
    — Nielsen et al., 2011

The black-eyed gecko (Mokopirirakau kahutarae), also known commonly as Whitaker's sticky-toed gecko, [4] is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. An alpine gecko species, discovered in 1970, it inhabits high-altitude mountains in three areas of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the highest-altitude lizard species in New Zealand, living up to 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level.

Contents

Description

The black-eyed gecko is a medium-sized lizard, olive or grey above and white below, with 6–7 lighter bands across the dorsal surface of its body, and speckled sides. It has very small body scales and narrow tapering toes, which more closely resemble those of an arboreal than a terrestrial gecko. It is most notable for its prominent eyebrows and unusually jet-black irises – all other related geckos have a light iris with a filigree pattern. When handled it makes chirruping calls or squeals. [5]

Behaviour

M. kahutarae is nocturnal and can be active at temperatures as low as 7°C. [5] It sun-basks on boulders at the entrance to its retreat, but is very wary and flees rapidly if disturbed. [5]

Taxonomy

Initially classified in the genus Hoplodactylus , the black-eyed gecko is now placed in the genus Mokopirirakau along with other narrow-toed alpine and forest geckos. [6] The holotype specimen is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. [7]

Geographic range

The Hutton's shearwater breeding colony at Shearwater Stream where the first black-eyed gecko was discovered. Hutton's shearwater habitat.jpeg
The Hutton's shearwater breeding colony at Shearwater Stream where the first black-eyed gecko was discovered.

The first specimen of M. kahutarae collected was found in March 1970 in a colony of Hutton's shearwaters on Mt Tarahaka in the Seaward Kaikōura Range. It was immediately recognised as an undescribed species, but repeated searches from 1970 to 1981 in the Seaward Kaikōuras failed to find any further individuals, until in 1983 four were collected in the Kahutara Saddle area, 30 km (19 mi) away from where it was first found. The specific epithet, kahutarae, is taken from the place where the type specimen was found. [5]

The black-eyed gecko has since been found in the mountains of Nelson and in the Lewis Pass area, living on alpine bluffs and rocky outcrops between 1,200 and 2,200 m (3,900 and 7,200 ft). It is able to survive in the sub-nival zone, where vegetation is patchy and snow-covered in winter. [8]

It is possible that this species is not especially adapted to an alpine habit; rocks and bluffs may be its last retreat from the rats and mice common at lower altitudes. [5]

Conservation status

In 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified M. kahutarae as Nationally Vulnerable under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. This was based on it existing in just a few subpopulations, the largest of less than 500 individuals, predicted to decline. It was noted as being data-poor, and sparsely distributed with a restricted range. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Hoplodactylus</i> Genus of lizards

Hoplodactylus is a genus of geckos in the family Diplodactylidae. The genus is endemic to New Zealand, one of the seven genera of geckos found only in New Zealand. Hoplodactylus comprises two species of large to gigantic brownish lizards.

<i>Gigarcanum</i> Extinct species of lizard

Gigarcanum delcourti, formerly Hoplodactylus delcourti, is an extinct species of gecko in the family Diplodactylidae. It is the largest known of all geckos, with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 37 cm (14.6 in) and an overall length of at least 60 cm (23.6 in). It is only known from a single taxidermied specimen collected in the 19th century that was rediscovered unlabelled in a museum in France. The origin of the specimen was undocumented. While originally suggested to have been from New Zealand and the kawekaweau of Māori oral tradition, DNA evidence from the specimen suggests that it originates from New Caledonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitaker's skink</span> Species of lizard

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The small-scaled skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The first specimen was captured in 1971 on Motutaiko Island, Lake Taupō but it is now known to be endemic to the central North Island of New Zealand in small population pockets. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold-striped gecko</span> Species of reptile

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlequin gecko</span> Species of lizard

The harlequin gecko, formerly Hoplodactylus rakiurae, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south of New Zealand, where it was discovered in 1969. In terms of distribution it is one of the southernmost gecko species in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen's Island gecko</span> Species of reptile

The Stephen's Island gecko, also known commonly as the Cook Strait striped gecko, Stephen's sticky-toed gecko, and the striped gecko, is a species of gecko in the genus Toropuku in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough gecko</span> Species of lizard

The rough gecko is a species of gecko in the family Gekkonidae native to New Zealand. It is endemic to the Kaikōura Ranges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlborough green gecko</span> Species of lizard

The Marlborough green gecko, also known as the manuka gecko,(Naultinus manukanus) is a small species of gecko endemic to New Zealand. It grows to a maximum of 70mm, and is green, with some individuals displaying gold markings. The underside of the gecko is a lighter green in females, and silvery in males. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest gecko</span> Species of lizard

The forest gecko is a species of gecko. Granulatus refers to the granular texture of the skin. Its Māori name is moko pirirākau. It is endemic to New Zealand, found in all areas except the Far North, Marlborough, and Canterbury.

<i>Woodworthia maculata</i> Species of lizard

Woodworthia maculata, also known as the New Zealand common gecko or Raukawa gecko, is a species in the family Diplodactylidae. The specific name maculata means "speckled".

<i>Dactylocnemis</i> Genus of lizards

Dactylocnemis pacificus, the Pacific gecko or Pacific sticky-toed gecko, is a species in the family Gekkonidae, endemic to the North Island and offshore islands of New Zealand. D. pacificus is the only described species in the genus Dactylocnemis, but five offshore island forms may represent new species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takitimu gecko</span> Species of lizard

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Whitaker</span> New Zealand herpetologist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyres skink</span> Species of lizard

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<i>Mokopirirakau</i> Genus of lizards

Mokopirirakau is a genus of geckos in the family Diplodactylidae. Mokopirirakau is endemic to New Zealand. Mokopirirakau, meaning "forest gecko", is derived from the Māori language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygopodoidea</span> Superfamily of lizards

Pygopodoidea is a gecko superfamily and the only taxon in the gekkotan subclade Pygopodomorpha. The clade includes three Australasian families: Diplodactylidae, Carphodactylidae, and Pygopodidae. Traditional gekkotan systematics had considered Diplodactylidae and Carphodactylidae as subfamilies of the family Gekkonidae, but recent molecular work have placed Pygopodidae within Gekkonidae making it paraphyletic. These analyses have shown support of Pygopodidae and Carphodactylidae being sister taxa, with Diplodactylidae occupying a basal position in Pygopodoidea.

References

  1. ↑ Hitchmough, R.; van Winkel, D.; Lettink, M.; Chapple, D. (2019). "Mokopirirakau kahutarae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T10251A120188625. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T10251A120188625.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Listed by New Zealand
  3. ↑ "Mokopirirakau kahutarae ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ↑ 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. ("Whitaker's Sticky-toed Gecko Hoplodactylus kahutarae Whitaker, 1985", p. 284).
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Whitaker AH (1984). "Hoplodactylus kahutarae n. sp. (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from the Seaward Kaikoura Range, Marlborough, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 11 (3): 259–270. doi: 10.1080/03014223.1984.10428239 .
  6. ↑ Nielsen, Stuart V.; Bauer, Aaron M. [in French]; Jackman, Todd R.; Hitchmough, Rod A.; Daugherty, Charles H. (2011). "New Zealand geckos (Diplodactylidae): Cryptic diversity in a post-Gondwanan lineage with trans-Tasman affinities". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 59 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.12.007. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   21184833.
  7. ↑ "Mokopirirakau kahutarae Whitaker, 1985; holotype". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Jewell, Tony (2011). A Photographic Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand. Auckland: New Holland. p. 42. ISBN   978-1-86966-203-5.
  9. ↑ Hitchmough, Rod; Anderson, Peter; Barr, Ben; Monks, Jo; Lettink, Marieke; Reardon, James; Tocher, Mandy; Whitaker, Tony. "Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2012" (PDF). Department of Conservation. The Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
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