Elasmodactylus tetensis

Elasmodactylus tetensis
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Gekkota
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Elasmodactylus
Species:	E. tetensis
Binomial name
Elasmodactylus tetensis Loveridge, 1953
Synonyms
Pachydactylus tetensisLoveridge, 1953

Elasmodactylus tetensis, commonly known as the Tete thick-toed gecko or Zambezi thick-toed gecko, is a species of gecko endemic to East Africa. ^{[1] [2]}

Description

E. tetensis, unlike any other species in the genus Elasmodactylus , is very large, and males have 8-14 preanal pores. ^[3]

Geographic range & habitat

E. tetensis is found in Mopane bushveld in the Zambezi river valley from Lake Kariba to Tete. There is a disjunct population in southern Tanzania. ^{[1] [2]}

Behaviour

E. tetensis is a highly gregarious species and often roosts side by side with numerous other individuals during the day in rock cracks or hollow tree trunks like hollow baobab trees. ^[1]

They are nocturnal insectivores but may forage within a short distance of their roost during daylight. Once it is dark, they extend the territory they patrol in search of arthropods.^{[ citation needed ]}

Reproduction

Sexually mature females lay two eggs at a time but can produce several clutches a season depending on food supply.^{[ citation needed ]}

Subspecies

There is an isolated population in southern Tanzania in similar habitat that is very likely a subspecies or another species forming a complex with tetensis.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Menegon, M. & Spawls, S. (2010). "Elasmodactylus tetensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010. IUCN: e.T178629A7584355. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T178629A7584355.en . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
2. Elasmodactylus tetensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 27 October 2014.
3. Branch, 2004.

Further reading

• Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN   0-88359-042-5. (Pachydactylus tetensis, p. 261).
• Loveridge A. 1953. "Zoological Results of a Fifth Expedition to East Africa. III. Reptiles from Nyasaland and Tete". Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard110 (3): 142–322. (Pachydactylus tetensis, new species, pp. 175–176 + Plate 5, figure 3).
• Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Drewes, Robert C. 2006. Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa. Princeton Pocket Guides. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 240 pp. ISBN   978-0691128849.