| Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Gekkota |
| Family: | Sphaerodactylidae |
| Genus: | Sphaerodactylus |
| Species: | S. phyzacinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus Thomas, 1964 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus, the Les Saintes dwarf gecko or Les Saintes geckolet, is a species of lizard belonging to the family Sphaerodactylidae, the least geckos or sphaeros. This species is endemic to Guadeloupe.
Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus was first formally described in 1962 as a subspecies of S. macrolepis , S. fantasticus phyzacinus, by the American herpetologist Richard Thomas, with its type locality given as Îlet à Cabrit, Îles des Saintes, off Guadeloupe. [2] In 2008 Roger Thorpe and his co-authors changed its taxonomic status from a subspecies to a species, S. phyzacinus. [3] Sphaerodactylus was formerly included in the family Gekkonidae, but in 1954 Garth Underwood proposed the family Sphaerodactylidae. [4] This family is classified within the infraorder Gekkota, the sole extant taxon within the clade Gekkonomorpha of the order Squamata, which includes the lizards and snakes. [5]
Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus is a member of the genus Sphaerodactylus, a name which is a combination of the Greek sphaira, meaning "a ball", or sphairion, which means "a little ball", with dactylos, meaning "finger", seemingly an allusion to round tips to the toes. [6] The specific name, phyzacinus, means "flighty", "timid" or "fearful" in Greek. [2]
Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus is sexually dimorphic:
These are small geckos with the sexes being similar in size, with a maximum snout-vent length of 25 mm (1.0 in). [7]
Sphaerodactylus phyzacinus is endemic to the Îles des Saintes, a small archipelago of four islands off Guadeloupe. These islands are Grand-Îlet, Terre de Bas, Îlet à Cabrit and Terre-de-Haut.They also occur on the small islet of La Coche. They are found under rocks and in the leaf litter of forests; some are found in sea grape ( Coccoloba uvifera ) leaf litter. [1]
