Blue bamboo day gecko
| Blue bamboo day gecko | ||||||||||||
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Blue bamboo day gecko in the terrarium, approx. 4 months old |
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| Phelsuma klemmeri | ||||||||||||
| Seipp , 1991 |
The blue bamboo day gecko ( Phelsuma klemmeri) is a lizard from the gecko family (Gekkonidae). It belongs to the day geckos of the genus Phelsuma . With a total length of 8.5 to 9.5 centimeters, it is one of the smallest representatives of this genus.
features
The blue bamboo day gecko is slender and flattened with a pointed head. The tail is as long as the rest of the body. The yellow color of the head with dark speckles and the turquoise tail are striking. Two broad, light blue-turquoise stripes run from the neck to the base of the tail. The back is shiny brown to gray and also slightly speckled. Underneath the wide turquoise stripes, a black stripe laterally runs, beginning with a black spot behind the eyes, up to the hind legs. The legs are marbled brown and light blue.
The underside is light gray to yellowish-white, the throat yellow with a narrow V-shaped stripe that delimits it.
The slightly protruding eyes have a striking, yellow ring, which is surrounded by another, brown-gray. From the nostril, a narrow brown stripe runs along the snout on each side to the eye.
The blue bamboo day gecko can hardly be confused with other day gecko species due to its characteristic coloration.
Gender differences
The sexes are difficult to distinguish in Phelsuma klemmeri . Adult males are sometimes slightly longer than the females. In adult females, the endolymphatic apparatus can often be seen on the cheeks, these are small sacs that contain the calcium stores for egg formation. The females have a narrower tail, they also lack the preanal pores in front of the cloacal opening and the femoral pores along the inner surface of the rear thighs. In males, even in young animals, the hemipenic pockets are marked with yellow dots directly at the base of the tail.
Occurrence and habitat
Phelsuma klemmeri was only described in 1991 from various small areas on the northwest coast of Madagascar around Antsatsaka . The gecko lives in bamboo forests and trees on the edge of the rainforests. This biotope is partly claimed by Phelsuma seippi and Phelsuma abotti chekei .
The air temperature here is a constant 28 to 30 ° C during the day all year round. At night the temperature falls below 20 ° C in the dry season from June to September and to around 24 ° C in the rainy season. The relative humidity there is 60–70% during the rainy season during the day and 45–50% in the dry season, but increases to 80% at night. At sunrise there is also humidity of over 90%.
The blue bamboo day gecko usually sits on smooth, yellow bamboo tubes, on the surface of which it can hold on to and move around with the help of the adhesive bristles on its toes. In case of danger, the little gecko disappears to the back of the bamboo tube, where it can quickly escape upwards or downwards. He also hides in hollow bamboo tubes, where he is safe from larger attackers.
The day gecko feeds on small insects, but also on fruits, pollen and nectar .
Systematics
The blue bamboo day gecko occupies a special position within the genus Phelsuma . Its characteristic color clearly distinguishes it from all other day gecko species, so that it cannot be assigned to a specific group of species within this genus. Molecular genetic studies show, however, that it seems to be most closely related to the two groups of species around Phelsuma lineata and Phelsuma laticauda . Just like the species within these groups, it is not “egg glue”. This means that the eggs cannot be glued to the plants by the females, as is often the case with other day gecko species.
literature
- Ulrike Anders: The blue bamboo day gecko. Phelsuma klemmeri (= species for art. Terrarium library. Day geckos. Vol. 5). Natur-und-Tier-Verlag, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-937285-76-8 .
- Frank Glaw , Miguel Vences : A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Including Mammals and Freshwater Fish. 2nd edition. Vences & Glaw, Cologne 1994, ISBN 3-929449-01-3 .
- Emmanuel van Heygen: The genus Phelsuma GRAY, 1825 on the Ampasindava peninsula, Madagascar. In: Phelsuma. Vol. 12, 2004, ISSN 1026-5023 , pp. 99–117, digital version (PDF; 2.40 MB) .
- Robert Seipp: A new kind of the genus Phelsuma GRAY 1825 from Madagascar (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae). In: Senckenbergiana biologica. Vol. 71, 1991, ISSN 0037-2102 , pp. 11-14.
Individual evidence
- Jump up ↑ Sara Rocha, Herbert Rösler, Philip-Sebastian Gehring, Frank Glaw, David Posada, D. James Harris, Miguel Vences: Phylogenetic systematics of day geckos, genus Phelsuma, based on molecular and morphological data (Squamata: Gekkonidae). In: Zootaxa . 2429, 2010, pp. 1–28, digital version (PDF; 1.46 MB) .
Web links
- Profile (archived) ( Memento from April 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Phelsuma klemmeri in The Reptile Database
- Phelsuma klemmeri inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Endangered Species . Posted by: Raxworthy, CJ, Ratsoavina, F., Glaw, F., Rabibisoa, N., Rakotondrazafy, NA & Bora, P., 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2014.