Rhoptropus bradfieldi

Rhoptropus bradfieldi
	A Bradfield's Namib day gecko on a rock, Namibia, 2008
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Rhoptropus
Species:	R. bradfieldi
Binomial name
	Rhoptropus bradfieldi; Hewitt, 1935

Last updated December 22, 2022

Bradfield's Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus bradfieldi) is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.^[1]^[2] This species was first described in 1935 by the British-born, South African zoologist John Hewitt, who gave it the name Rhoptropus bradfieldi in honour of the South African naturalist and collector R.D. Bradfield (1882–1949).^[3]

Description

Rhoptropus bradfieldi has a maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 74 mm (2.9 in),^[4] and a total length (including tail) of about 100 to 130 mm (4 to 5 in). The dorsal surface is greyish-brown, indistinctly barred and dappled, and the ventral surface is bluish-grey. There are eleven scansors (specialist structures for adhesion) under the middle toe. This gecko is similar in appearance to the Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus afer), but that species is slightly smaller, has bright yellow underparts and only six scansors under the middle digit.^[5] The difference in scansor number between the two species, and the much shorter setae from which the scansors are formed in R. afer, are reflected in different lifestyles; R. bradfieldi, with more-adhesive feet, is a crevice-dweller with a slow, climbing lifestyle, while R. afer is much more terrestrial, running rapidly on the ground and jumping from rock to rock.^[6]

Distribution and habitat

Rhoptropus bradfieldi is endemic to Namibia. Its typical habitat is rocks and boulders in arid regions of the Namib Desert.^[7]

Ecology

Rhoptropus bradfieldi is a diurnal lizard and is an ambush predator of small arthropods such as ants, moths, and beetles.^[4] Its body is maintained at a high but steady temperature while it is active. It has a low field metabolic rate, about 26% of that of other desert lizards, but a relatively high water intake, which it probably fulfils from the fogs that often occur near the coast.^[7]

Reproduction

R. bradfieldi is oviparous.^[2] Clutch size is two eggs, and each egg measures about 15 mm × 9 mm (0.59 in × 0.35 in).^[4]

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References

1 2 Bauer, A.M.; Becker, F. (2020). "Rhoptropus bradfieldi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T120686445A120906498. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T120686445A120906498.en . Retrieved 31 January 2022.
1 2 Rhoptropus bradfieldi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 31 January 2022.
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
1 2 3 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. (Rhoptropus bradfieldi, p. 268 + Plate 92).
↑ Branch, Bill (2016). Pocket Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Penguin Random House South Africa. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-77584-377-1.
↑ Johnson, Megan K.; Russell, Anthony P. (2009). "Configuration of the setal fields of Rhoptropus (Gekkota: Gekkonidae): functional, evolutionary, ecological and phylogenetic implications of observed pattern". Journal of Anatomy. 214 (6): 937–955. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01075.x. PMC 2705302 .
1 2 Murray, Ian W.; Fuller, Andrea; Lease, Hilary M.; Mitchell, Duncan; Wolf, Blair O.; Hetem, Robyn S. (2015). "Low field metabolic rates for geckos of the genus Rhoptropus may not be surprising". Journal of Arid Environments. 113: 35–42. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.09.006.