Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko

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Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko
The Cape Melville Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius eximius). Photo by Conrad Hoskin.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Carphodactylidae
Genus: Saltuarius
Species:
S. eximius
Binomial name
Saltuarius eximius
Hoskin & Couper, 2013

The Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuarius eximius) is a species of geckos that is endemic to the Melville Range on Cape Melville in Northern Australia. [1] [2] The species was described in 2013 by Australian zoologists Conrad Hoskin (of James Cook University) and Patrick J. Couper (curator of herpetology at Queensland Museum). [3] The lizards are about 20 cm (7.9 in) long and are believed to be a relic species from the time period rainforests were more abundant in Australia. The name derives from the Latin word for "extraordinary" or "exquisite", and refers to the lizard's distinctive, camouflaged appearance. It hides among rocky boulders in the day and emerges at night to hunt on rocks and trees. The lizard has large eyes, a long and slender body, and specialized limbs adapted to life in dimly lit boulder fields. [2]

On 23 May 2014, the International Institute for Species Exploration declared the gecko as one of the "Top 10 New Species of 2014". The reasons for its selection are its camouflage to its surrounding rocks, and by which it hunts prey. [4] [5] [6]

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<i>Uroplatus</i> Genus of lizards

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<i>Phyllurus</i> Genus of lizards

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<i>Saproscincus</i> Genus of lizards

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Melville</span> Point in Queensland, Australia

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<i>Cophixalus zweifeli</i> Species of frog

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champion's leaf-tailed gecko</span> Species of lizard

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The Cape Melville shadeskink is a species of lizards from the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, described in 2013. It was one of three vertebrates discovered by scientists from James Cook University and National Geographic in an area of mountain rainforest in North Queensland. The lizards are active by day, running and jumping through the mossy boulder fields of Northern Queensland.

<i>Cophixalus petrophilus</i> Species of amphibian

Cophixalus petrophilus, the blotched boulder-frog, is a species of frogs from the Cape York Peninsula that was described in 2013. It is one of three newly described vertebrate species from Cape Melville, Australia, the other two being skink Saproscincus saltus and gecko Saltuarius eximius. The specific name petrophilus means "rock-loving" and refers to restriction of this species to boulder field habitats.

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

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Phyllurus amnicola, also known as the Mount Elliot leaf-tailed gecko or the Riverine leaf-tailed gecko, is a species of gecko found in Australia. It is endemic to Mount Elliot in Bowling Green Bay National Park in northeastern Queensland.

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<i>Saltuarius moritzi</i> Species of lizard

Saltuarius moritzi, also known commonly as the New England leaf-tailed gecko or Moritz's leaf-tailed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Carphodactylidae. The species is native to Australia.

<i>Saltuarius salebrosus</i> Species of lizard

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<i>Amalosia jacovae</i> Species of lizard

Amalosia jacovae, also known commonly as the clouded gecko or the clouded velvet gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Cyrtodactylus hoskini is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scawfell Island leaf-tailed gecko</span> Species of lizard

Phyllurus fimbriatus, the Scawfell Island leaf-tailed gecko, is a large species of gecko endemic to mid-east Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. "Lost world' discovered in remote Australia". AFP. October 27, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Aldred, Jessica (October 28, 2013). "Gecko that looks like a leaf among new species found in Australia's 'lost world'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
  3. Hoskin, Conrad J.; Couper, Patrick (1 October 2013). "A spectacular new leaf-tailed gecko (Carphodactylidae: Saltuarius) from the Melville Range, north-east Australia". Zootaxa. 3717 (4): 543–558. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3717.4.6 . PMID   26176122.
  4. "Leaf-tailed gecko named in top 10 new species of 2014". Australian Geographic. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  5. "Leaf-tailed Gecko: Look Hard to See This One Top 10 New Species of 2014". State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  6. "Top 10 New Species of 2013 Announced". Sci-News.com. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.