Ptenopus

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Ptenopus
Ptenopus maculatus.jpg
P. garrulus maculatus
Barking Gecko calls recorded in Namibia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Subfamily: Uroplatinae
Genus: Ptenopus
Gray, 1866

Ptenopus is a small genus of lizards, known commonly as barking geckos, in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is endemic to Southern Africa. There are only three described species in this genus. [1]

Contents

Species and subspecies

The following species and subspecies are recognized as being valid. [1]

Nota bene : A binomial authority or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Ptenopus. [2]

Common barking gecko, P. garrulus. Note the fringed toes and the regenerated tip to the tail. Common Barking Gecko (Ptenopus garrulus) (6856976432).jpg
Common barking gecko, P. garrulus. Note the fringed toes and the regenerated tip to the tail.
P. garrulus, barking Common Barking Gecko (Ptenopus garrulus) barking (6854290978).jpg
P. garrulus, barking

Etymology

The specific name, carpi, is in honor of Dutch-born South African amateur naturalist Bernhard Karp (1901–1966). [3]

The specific name, kochi, is in honor of Austrian-born South African entomologist Charles Koch. [3]

Description

The genus Ptenopus is in several ways atypical of the family Gekkonidae. The toes have neither pads nor expanded tips; instead they have well developed claws and they are fringed with comb-like scales that assist in rapid motion over sand, and perhaps in digging.
The name Ptenopus is from classical Greek and means "feather-foot", referring to the fringes on the toes. [4]

In build the body and tail are only moderately plump, roughly cylindrical without special frills. The tail tapers to a point, but as is common among geckos, it commonly has been partly shed by the time the animal is fully grown, and the distal part commonly is a regenerated replacement. The animal is of modest size for a gecko, typically 50–60 mm (2.0–2.4 in) in body length. The head plus tail add about a similar length, so that a typical specimen might measure roughly 100–120 mm (3.9–4.7 in) in total length. As in most geckos, the tail commonly is swollen with fat stores, but not as much so as most species, such as say, in the genera Chondrodactylus and Pachydactylus. [2]

The profile of the head is blunt, the snout being rounded, reminiscent of the genera Chondrodactylus and Pachydactylus. The eyes are prominent and wide-set, sited distinctly far forward over the short muzzle, and they have vertical pupils without the pinholes to be seen in, for example, the pupils of many species of Pachydactylus . The body and tail are cylindrical and the tail tapers to a point. The scales are small and granular and have no keels. The colour ranges from off-white or mottled yellow to chestnut brown, with irregular blotches and speckles. The ventral scales are generally white, but males of all species and females of Ptenopus carpi have yellow throats. [2]

Biology

Barking geckos dig burrows up to a metre long. During the day they plug their burrows for protection from heat and predators. The name "barking gecko" refers to the territorial calls of males. During summer males sit at the mouths of their burrows in the dusk and on overcast days, and with only their heads showing, they call "kek-kek-kek" for hours on end. The call of each of the species has its own characteristic pitch. Apart from territorial defence, the calls attract females. A female that has chosen a mate will enter his burrow, and after mating she takes it over. He leaves and digs himself a new burrow. Usually she lays a single egg in such a burrow and leaves soon after. As is typical of geckos, the egg is hard-shelled.

Because of the importance of their burrows in their biology, barking geckos can only live in areas where they can dig their burrows. They depend on sand or silt that is fine enough, and firm enough to dig. Dunes of loose sand will not do, and neither will hard nor stony ground, nor thick grass. They prefer sparsely vegetated sandy soil, or silt in dry riverbeds. In suitable spots, they sometimes congregate densely, with many burrows in a small area. However solitary burrows are not unusual.

At night after rain showers, such as in the weather in which termites undertake their nuptial flights, barking geckos commonly leave their burrows to hunt actively for prey. During the brief season when the termites take to flight, they form an important part of the geckos' nutrition. At other times of the year, the geckos are mainly ambush predators, awaiting prey at the burrow entrance and sallying forth opportunistically. [2]

Geographic range

Barking geckos are endemic to the arid western parts of Southern Africa.
Ptenopus garrulus has the largest geographic range, from Northern Cape, most of southern Namibia, and the southern half of Botswana, to northwest Limpopo.
Ptenopus carpi occurs only in the Namib Desert from the Kuiseb River northwards to about opposite Etosha.
Ptenopus kochi occurs between the Kuiseb River southwards to Lüderitz. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pachydactylus</i> Genus of lizards

Pachydactylus is a genus of insectivorous geckos, lizards in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is endemic to Africa, and member species are commonly known as thick-toed geckos.

<i>Chondrodactylus</i> Genus of lizards

Chondrodactylus is genus of geckos, lizards in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is commonly known as thick-toed geckos. Little is known of their biology.

<i>Underwoodisaurus milii</i> Species of lizard

Underwoodisaurus milii is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Carphodactylidae. The species is commonly known as the thick-tailed or barking gecko, referring to its distinctive plump tail and sharp, barking defensive call. The genus is also often called thick-tailed geckos as a group, along with the species Uvidicolus sphyrurus.

Bibrons thick-toed gecko Species of reptile

Chondrodactylus bibronii, commonly known as Bibron's thick-toed gecko, Bibron's sand gecko, or simply Bibron's gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa. C. bibronii has been used as an animal model in bioastronautic research examining the effects of spaceflight on the morphology and physiology of vertebrates.

<i>Pachydactylus rangei</i> Species of lizard

Pachydactylus rangei, the Namib sand gecko or Namib web-footed gecko, is a species of small lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It inhabits the arid areas of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, and was first described in 1908 by Swedish zoologist Lars Gabriel Andersson, who named it after its finder, German geologist Dr. Paul Range.

Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons, born in Pietermaritzburg, was a notable herpetologist in South Africa. Also, he contributed to the collection of spermatophyte samples for the National Herbarium which has become part of the South African National Biodiversity Institute at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden. In 1937, together with Anna Amelia Obermeyer, he collected some of the earliest plant specimens from the Eastern Highlands of Rhodesia.

Lucasium byrnei, commonly known as the gibber gecko or Byrne's gecko, is a species of small, nocturnal gecko, a lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Turners thick-toed gecko Species of lizard

Turner's thick-toed gecko is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

The Namib day gecko is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is found in the deserts of Namibia and southern Angola. It is the type species and most common member of the genus Rhoptropus.

<i>Chondrodactylus angulifer</i> Species of lizard

Chondrodactylus angulifer, also known as the common giant ground gecko, the South African ground gecko, or the Namib sand gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Chondrodactylus fitzsimonsi, also known as Fitzsimons's thick-toed gecko or the button-scaled gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southwestern Africa.

Pulitzer's thick-toed gecko is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

The Cape Cross thick-toed gecko, also known commonly as Koch's gecko and Koch's thick-toed gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Wahlberg's Kalahari gecko, also known commonly as the Kalahari ground gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Pachydactylus haackei, also known commonly as Haacke's gecko or Haacke's thick-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa.

Monica's gecko, also known commonly as Monica's thick-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Pachydactylus scherzi is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to Southern Africa.

The Namib desert gecko, also known commonly as the Kaoko web-footed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Uroplatinae Subfamily of lizards

Uroplatinae is a subfamily of geckos in the family Gekkonidae. At least 28 genera have been found to be cluster in a clade together. In the past this was once a monotypic subfamily that included Uroplatus.

References

  1. 1 2 Ptenopus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 21 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Alexander, Graham; Marais, Johan (2007). A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Random House / Struik Nature. ISBN   978 1 77007 386 9.
  3. 1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ptenopus carpi, p. 48; P. kochi, p. 144).
  4. Jaeger, Edmund Carroll (1959). A Source-book of Biological Names and Terms . Springfield, Illinois: Thomas. ISBN   0-398-06179-3.

Further reading