Rhynchoedura | |
---|---|
Rhynchoedura sp. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Diplodactylidae |
Genus: | Rhynchoedura Günther, 1867 |
Rhynchoedura is a genus of lizards in the family Diplodactylidae. It includes six species, [1] commonly known as beaked geckos, all of which are endemic to the arid zone of the Australian outback. [2]
Members of the genus are terrestrial and nocturnal, sheltering by day in spider burrows. They specialize in eating termites and are most abundant in open, recently burned areas. [3] [4] [5] They can be characterized by their long bodies and narrow heads with enlarged scales at the tip of the snout. Rhynchoedura species are widespread and occupy a range of dry woodland, shrubland, grassland, and desert environments, and none are currently considered to be at risk of extinction.
The genus was traditionally regarded as monotypic, with the single species Rhynchoedura ornata named by Albert Günther in 1867. A second species was described in 1985, though without widespread recognition at the time. In 2011 an extensive revision sampling the population across Australia found overlooked genetic diversity in the genus and named four new cryptic species. Each Rhynchoedura species is native to a specific perennial river drainage, and active rivers during wet periods of the Neogene could have led to allopatric speciation within the genus. [2]
Image | Species | Taxon author | Common name | Distribution | IUCN status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
R. angusta | Pepper, Doughty, Hutchinson, & Keough, 2011 | Border beaked gecko | Bulloo-Bancannia drainage basin, from western Queensland south to the border of western New South Wales and eastern South Australia | Least Concern | |
R. eyrensis | Pepper, Doughty, Hutchinson, & Keough, 2011 | Eyre Basin beaked gecko | Lake Eyre basin, eastern South Australia and surrounding areas | Least Concern | |
R. mentalis | Pepper, Doughty, Hutchinson, & Keough, 2011 | Brigalow beaked gecko | Southern Queensland | Least Concern | |
R. ormsbyi | Wells & Wellington, 1985 | Eastern beaked gecko | Murray-Darling basin, New South Wales north to southern Queensland | Least Concern | |
R. ornata | Günther, 1867 | Western beaked gecko | Western Australia and the western portions of the Northern Territory and South Australia | Least Concern | |
R. sexapora | Pepper, Doughty, Hutchinson, & Keough, 2011 | Northern beaked gecko | Kimberley region of Western Australia east to the Top End of the Northern Territory | Least Concern | |
Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes, encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The grouping is paraphyletic as some lizards are more closely related to snakes than they are to other lizards. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon.
Gekkonidae is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 64 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (Hemidactylus), the tokay gecko (Gekko), day geckos (Phelsuma), the mourning gecko (Lepidodactylus), and dtellas (Gehyra). Gekkonid geckos occur globally and are particularly diverse in tropical areas.
The western beaked gecko is a species of gecko found throughout the interior of Australia.
The thorny devil, also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Australia. It is the sole species in the genus Moloch. It grows up to 21 cm (8.3 in) in total length, with females generally larger than males.
The frilled lizard, also known as the frillneck lizard, frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. This species is the only member of the genus Chlamydosaurus. Its common names come from the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. It reaches 90 cm (35 in) from head to tail and can weigh 600 g (1.3 lb). Males are larger and more robust than females. The lizard's body is generally grey, brown, orangish-brown, or black in colour. The frills have red, orange, yellow, or white colours.
The sandhill dunnart is a species of carnivorous Australian marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It is known from four scattered semi-arid areas of Australia: near Lake Amadeus in Northern Territory, the central and eastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, the southwestern and western edges of the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia, and at Yellabinna in South Australia.
The Carphodactylidae, informally known as the southern padless geckos, are a family of geckos, lizards in the infraorder Gekkota. The family consists of 32 described species in 7 genera, all of which are endemic to Australia. They belong to the superfamily Pygopodoidea, an ancient group of east Gondwanan geckos now only found in Australasia. Despite their well-developed limbs, molecular phylogenies have demonstrated that Carphodactylidae is the sister group to Pygopodidae, a highly specialized family of legless lizards.
The Diplodactylidae are a family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and widespread family of geckos in both Australia and New Caledonia, and are the only family of geckos found in New Zealand. Three diplodactylid genera have recently been split into multiple new genera.
Ochetellus is a genus of ants first described by Steve Shattuck in 1992. He placed it in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae. The ants in this genus are small and black in colour; workers measure 1.75 to 3 millimetres in length, the males at around 1.6 millimetres (0.06 in) are smaller, and the queens are the largest, reaching 4 millimetres (0.16 in). There are seven described species and three described subspecies that mostly live in Australia in a wide variety of habitats, but some species are found in Asia. One species, Ochetellus glaber, has been introduced into New Zealand and the United States.
Stephens's banded snake is a species of highly venomous tree snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Diplodactylus conspicillatus, the variable fat-tailed gecko or burrow-plug gecko, is a diplodactylid gecko endemic to central and arid inland areas of Australia. Widespread across the continent, the variable fat-tailed is most commonly found in sandy desert habitats dominated by spinifex grasses. They have also been bred in captivity by zoos and as pets.
The eastern beaked gecko is a gecko endemic to arid zones of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.
The border beaked gecko is a gecko endemic to Australia in the family Gekkonidae. It is known for its distinctive beak-like snout and ability to camouflage itself in its surroundings.
The Eyre Basin beaked gecko is a gecko endemic to Australia in the family Diplodactylidae. It is found throughout parts of South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory and New South Wales.
Strophurus williamsi, also known commonly as the eastern spiny-tailed gecko, the soft-spined gecko, and Williams' spiny-tailed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to semi-arid regions of eastern Australia including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has become a popular species as a pet for its distinctive tail features. S. williamsi has been grouped within a clade of seven other species that are believed to have diverged from their ancestors around 20 million years ago. S. williamsi can be distinguished from closer relatives by arboreality and diurnal (day-active) activity.
Gehyra versicolor, commonly known as the eastern tree dtella. is a native Australian gecko occurring in temperate forests of eastern Australia.
Ctenotus pantherinus, commonly known as the Leopard Ctenotus, is a species of skink endemic to central and western Australia. It's conservation status is currently classified as Least Concern.
The Southern Mallee ctenotus is a medium sized lizard in the family scincidae (skink) found in the central and southern interior regions of South Australia and Western Australia; the Mallee regions of NSW and Victoria, in Australia.
Ctenotus brooksi, also known commonly as Brooks' wedge-snouted ctenotus, the wedgesnout ctenotus, and the sandhill ctenotus, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia and found in semi-arid regions.
Ctenotus leonhardii, known by the common names Leonhardi's ctenotus, Leonhardi's skink or common desert ctenotus, is a species of skink found in a range of arid and semi-arid regions throughout mainland Australia. The species was named after German anthropologist Moritz von Leonhardi in 1919 and belongs to the genus Ctenotus, one of the largest genera of lizards in Australia.