Pachydactylus austeni

Pachydactylus austeni
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Gekkota
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Pachydactylus
Species:	P. austeni
Binomial name
	Pachydactylus austeni; Hewitt, 1923

Last updated July 06, 2025

Pachydactylus austeni, also known commonly as Austen's thick-toed gecko or Austen's gecko, is a species of small thick-toed gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is indigenous to the western coast of South Africa.^[3]

Etymology

The specific name, austeni, is in honour of English topographer Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen.^[4]

Habitat, behaviour and diet

The natural habitat of P. austeni is coastal dunes and alluvial sands, at elevations up to 600 m (2,000 ft).^[1] It lives in a tiny burrow that it digs in the sand, and it leaves its burrow at night to forage for small insects among the dune vegetation.^[3]

Description

P. austeni has a smooth, colourful body with large eyes and conspicuous yellow or white eyelids.^[3]

Reproduction

P. austeni is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 Bates, M.F.; Bauer, A.M. (2018). "Pachydactylus austeni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T196930A115662983. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T196930A115662983.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
1 2 Species Pachydactylus austeni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
1 2 3 "CapeNature". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 13).

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. (Pachydactylus austeni, pp. 250–251 + Plate 82).
Hewitt J (1923). "Descriptions of Two New S. African Geckos of the Genus Pachydactylus ". Annals of the Natal Museum5: 67–71. (Pachydactylus austeni, new species, pp. 67–69 + Plate IV, figures 1 & 2).
Loveridge A (1947). "Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Gekkonidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College98 (1): 1–469 + Plates 1–7. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 349).
Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota2: 28–153. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 98). (in German).

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[iucn_status_19_November_2021-1] 1 2 Bates, M.F.; Bauer, A.M. (2018). "Pachydactylus austeni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T196930A115662983. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T196930A115662983.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 Species Pachydactylus austeni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

[capenat-3] 1 2 3 "CapeNature". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-11-30.

[4] Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 13).

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