Lidgeckos

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Lidgeckos
Coleonyx variegatus

Coleonyx variegatus

Systematics
without rank: Amniotes (Amniota)
without rank: Sauropsida
Superordinate : Scale lizards (Lepidosauria)
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Geckos (gekkota)
Family : Lidgeckos
Scientific name
Eublepharidae
Boulenger , 1883

Lidgeckos (Eublepharidae) ( Gr .: eublepharos = with beautiful eyelids) are ground-dwelling geckos that live disjointly in the tropics and subtropics. The genus Coleonyx lives in the southwest of the USA, in Mexico and Central America, Hemitheconyx in West Africa, Holodactylus in northeastern Africa, three other genera in Asia.

In contrast to the geckos, they have normal eyelids, but when the eyes are closed, the lower lid moves upwards. As ground dwellers, Lidgeckos do not have the sticky lamellae on their feet that are typical for geckos; their entire anatomy is more primitive. They are the only geckos with a single parietal bone and the only lizards whose prefrontal is centered between the frontals .

Lidgeckos occasionally raise their tails, before grabbing prey consisting of insects and other small arthropods , they wave it in undulating movements. They lay two eggs a year, which, in contrast to most other geckos, are soft-shelled. Young animals differ considerably from the adult animals in their coloring and drawing.

Systematics

Lidgeckos used to be considered a subfamily of the geckos (Gekkonidae). Molecular biological studies, however, see them as the primeval sister family of all other geckos.

Cat gecko ( Aeluroscalabotes felinus )
Mexican clawed gecko ( Coleonyx elegans )
Leopard gecko
( Eublepharis macularius )
Hemitheconyx caudicinctus
African button- tailed gecko ( Holodactylus africanus )

The Eublepharidae family currently comprises 36 species from 6 genera:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ted M. Townsend, Allan Larson, Edward Louis, J. Robert Macey: Molecular Phylogenetics of Squamata: The Position of Snakes, Amphisbaenians, and Dibamids, and the Root of the Squamate Tree. In: Systematic Biology. Vol. 53, No. 5, 2004, pp. 735-757, doi : 10.1080 / 10635150490522340 , PMID 15545252 .
  2. ↑ Eublepharidae in The Reptile Database ; Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b c Jian-huan Yang, Bosco Pui-lok Chan: Two new species of the genus Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Sauria: Eublepharidae) from southern China . Zootaxa 3980 (1), 2015, pp. 67–80, doi : 10.11646 / zootaxa.3980.1.4 ( PDF; 12.2 MB ).

literature

  • L. Lee Grismer : Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California. Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of ​​Cortés (= Organisms and Environments. Vol. 4). University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 2002, ISBN 0-520-22417-5 , books.google.com .
  • Hermann Seufer, Yuri Kaverkin, Andreas Kirschner (eds.): The Lidgeckos. Care, breeding and way of life. Kirschner & Seufer, Karlsruhe 2005, ISBN 3-9804207-7-9 .
  • Volker Storch , Ulrich Welsch : Systematic Zoology. 5th, revised and expanded edition. G. Fischer, Stuttgart et al. 1997, ISBN 3-437-25160-0 .

Web links

Commons : Lidgeckos (Eublepharidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files