Crenadactylus occidentalis

Last updated

Crenadactylus occidentalis
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Diplodactylidae
Genus: Crenadactylus
Species:
C. occidentalis
Binomial name
Crenadactylus occidentalis
Doughty, Ellis, & Oliver, 2016 [2]

Crenadactylus occidentalis, also called the western clawless gecko, is a species of gecko endemic to the western coast of Australia. [3]

Gecko Lizard belonging to the infraorder Gekkota

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 to 60 cm. Most geckos cannot blink, but they often lick their eyes to keep them clean and moist. They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Contents

Taxonomy

Crenadactylus occidentalis was first described in a taxonomic revision in 2016 of rare and poorly known geckos of the genus Crenadactylus , assembling evidence of greatly under-estimated speciation previously only recognised as subspecies of monotypic genus. [2] One of four new species to emerge from molecular studies that had reported chromosomal distinctions that indicated the population's divergence around twenty to thirty million years ago. The holotype was collect by Brad Maryan and Robert Browne-Cooper during April in 1992 at Dirk Hartog Island. [2] [4]

<i>Crenadactylus</i> genus of reptiles

Crenadactylus, the clawless geckos, are named for their distinguishing feature, the absence of terminal claws on the digits. They are the only Australian members of Gekkonidae to lack claws, the endemic genus is also the smallest in size.

Holotype The example of an organism used to describe its species

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept.

Dirk Hartog Island island

Dirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island. It covers an area of 620 square kilometres and is approximately 850 kilometres north of Perth. It was named after Dirk Hartog, a Dutch sea captain, who first encountered the Western Australian coastline close to the 26th parallel south latitude, which runs through the island. After leaving the island, Hartog continued his voyage north-east along the mainland coast. Hartog gave the Australian mainland one of its earliest known names, as Eendrachtsland, which he named after his ship Eendracht, meaning "Unity".

Crenadactylus ocellatus , found in a wider distribution of Southwest Australia, has also been referred to as the western clawless gecko. Prior to the revision in 2016, the population had been identified as two 'forms' found at adjacent ranges in the western regions of Australia and tentatively recognised as subspecies C. ocellatus ocellatus (southwestern clawless gecko) and C. ocellatus horni (central west coast clawless gecko). [4]

<i>Crenadactylus ocellatus</i> species of reptile

Crenadactylus ocellatus, also known as the southwestern clawless gecko or western clawless gecko, is the smallest species of nocturnal Gekkonidae (gecko) found in Australia.

Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot in Western Australia, it is also known as the Southwest Australia Global Diversity Hotspot, as well as Kwongan.

Description

A species of Crenadactylus, all of which differ in subtle details of their appearance but with deep divergence in the genome that indicates long periods of geographic isolation (20–30 mya). C. occidentalis has a relatively wide head and medium size, the snout vent length is recorded as 32.6 millimetres. The base colour over the body is tan and light brown. The striping common to the genus is distinctly contrasted, occasionally broken by spots where a few scales are yellow or white. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Records of Crenadactylus occidentalis are at altitudes less than 100 metres asl. The distribution range of the species is restricted to sub-coastal and coastal habitat in Western Australia, from Carnarvon to the south beyond the Northwest Cape to Yardie Creek. The range includes offshore areas near Carnarvon and at Shark Bay on Dorre and Berniers. The vegetation type of their habitat is composed of grass mounds of spinifex country and low coastal shrub-lands, dominated by banksia and acacia species. C. occidentalis has been located in waste piles associated with recent human habitation of the rural region. [1]

Western Australia State in Australia

Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.

Carnarvon, Western Australia Town in Western Australia

Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately 900 kilometres (560 mi) north of Perth, Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Reef and the popular tourist town of Exmouth lie to the north. Within Carnarvon is the Mungullah Aboriginal Community. Inland, Carnarvon has strong links with the town of Gascoyne Junction and the Burringurrah Community. At the 2016 census, Carnarvon had a population of 4,426.

Shark Bay bay of the Indian Ocean in Western Australia, designated as a world heritage area

Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 2,200,902-hectare (5,438,550-acre) area is located approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's official listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage Site reads:

Conservation status

The IUCN has classified the species as least concern and notes the species is located within at least one conservation zone of an extensive area of coastline. No specific conservation plan has assessed and evaluated threatening factors to the population, although the species is recognised for the purposes of conservation assessment. The quality and area of extent is noted as declining. Crenadactylus occidentalis is thought to be uncommon, although the lack of specific research, surveys and former position as a hidden species within Crenadactylus leaves some uncertainty about its population structure. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Christinus</i> genus of reptiles

Christinus is a genus of Gekkonidae geckos found in southern regions of Australia. It contains species and subspecies that are regionally termed as marbled geckos. The contrasted patterns of these geckos, marbling, are found in a variety of reddish-brown, grey, silver, white, black and purplish hues. They are frequently found in old knotted trees and sometimes congregate in large numbers in established urban environments.

<i>Oedura</i> genus of reptiles

Oedura is a genus of medium to large geckos, lizards in the family Diplodactylidae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Species in the genus are referred to by the common name velvet geckos.

Southern pig-footed bandicoot Small species of herbivorous marsupial in the genus Chaeropus, the pig-footed bandicoots

The southern pig-footed bandicoot – Chaeropus ecaudatus – was a small species of herbivorous marsupial in the genus Chaeropus, the pig-footed bandicoots.

<i>Antaresia</i> genus of reptiles

Antaresia is a genus of pythons, nonvenomous snakes found in Australia. The genus is known by the common name Children's pythons, the name of the type species. Gray named it in honour of his mentor, John George Children, who was a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum around that time. It contains the smallest members of the Pythonidae. Currently, four species are recognized.

Tiger snake Highly venomous snake native to southern Australia including Tasmania

Tiger snakes are a highly venomous snake species found in the southern regions of Australia, including its coastal islands, such as Tasmania. These snakes are highly variable in their colour, often banded like those on a tiger, and forms in their regional occurrences. All populations are in the genus Notechis, and their diverse characters have been described in further subdivisions of this group; they are sometimes described as distinct species and/or subspecies.

<i>Christinus marmoratus</i> species of reptile

Christinus marmoratus, also known as marbled gecko or marbled southern gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae (gecko) native to southern mainland of Australia, from Victoria to Western Australia. The species is well adapted to a variety of habitats, including city dwellings..

Stimsons python species of reptile

Stimson's python is a species of python, a snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Stimson's pythons are sold and kept as pets in some Australian states.

Rankinia adelaidensis is a species of heath dragon, small agamid reptiles, occurring in southern regions of Australia.

<i>Morelia spilota imbricata</i> subspecies of reptile

Morelia spilota imbricata is a large snake found in southern regions of Western Australia and western South Australia. A member of the python family, it is commonly known as the South-West carpet python.

<i>Strophurus</i> genus of reptiles

Strophurus is a genus of lizards in the family Diplodactylidae. All species of Strophurus are endemic to Australia, and are sometimes given the common names spiny-tailed geckos or striped geckos.

Christinus alexanderi, also known as Alexander's southern gecko or Alexander's marbled gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae geckos found in the Nullarbor Plain of Australia. It is one of the many species and subspecies regionally termed as marbled geckos.

Arnold G. Kluge is professor emeritus of zoology and curator emeritus of amphibians and reptiles at the University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology. Kluge authored over 140 journal articles. He served as past president of the Willi Hennig Society and as editor-in-chief of its journal Cladistics. He served at the University of Michigan from 1965 until his retirement in 2003.

Crenadactylus horni, the Central Uplands clawless gecko, is a species of gecko endemic to the central desert region of Australia.

The northern clawless gecko is a species of gecko endemic to Western Australia and Northern Territory in Australia.

Crenadactylus pilbarensis is a species of gecko found in the Pilbara region of Australia. They resemble other species of the genus Crenadactylus, tiny clawless Australian geckos found across a large area of the continent, but has persisted as an ancient lineage in a region of the northwest.

The Southwest Kimberley clawless gecko is a species of gecko endemic to Western Australia in Australia.

The Cape Range clawless gecko is a species of gecko endemic to Western Australia in Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 How, R., Cowan, M., Ellis, R. & Mitchell, N.M 2017.Crenadactylus occidentalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T109451759A109451778. Downloaded on 07 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Doughty, P.; Ellis, R.J.; Oliver, P.M. (15 September 2016). "Many things come in small packages: Revision of the clawless geckos (Crenadactylus: Diplodactylidae) of Australia". Zootaxa. 4168 (2): 239. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4168.2.2. ISSN   1175-5334.
  3. 1 2 "Crenadactylus occidentalis". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  4. 1 2 Browne-Cooper, R.; Bush, B.; Maryan, B.; Robinson, D. (2007). Reptiles and frogs in the bush : southwestern Australia. University of Western Australia Press. p. 110. ISBN   9781920694746.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.