Namib gecko
| Namib gecko | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Namib gecko ( Pachydactylus rangei ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pachydactylus rangei | ||||||||||||
| ( Andersson , 1908) |
The Namib Gecko ( Pachydactylus rangei , Syn. : Palmatogecko rangei ), also Schwimmfußgecko called, is used exclusively in the desert Namib from the coast of the southern Atlantic Ocean to about 130 km inland before. It lives on sand dunes up to 300 meters high and is one of the so-called Little Five (“small five”; see Big Five ).
features
They are small animals that only reach 12 to 14 cm total length. The tail becomes 6 cm long. The head and trunk are flat, the head clearly separated from the trunk. The skin has fine scales, appears velvety and translucent. Some internal organs are visible. Namib geckos have a light to reddish brown back. The belly and flanks below the side fold are white to yellowish. The legs are thin and appear fragile. The spaces between the toes are equipped with a “web of webs” that extends to the tips of the toes. It enables the geckos to walk through loose sand without sinking in. In the males, the base of the tail is thickened.
Way of life
The animals are only active at night. They spend the day in self-dug corridors that are unbranched and 80 to 100 cm deep. Their preferred prey are articulated animals of all kinds, from termites and black beetles to crickets and spiders . They lick dew drops and possibly also absorb moisture through the skin.
The mating season lasts from February to the end of April. The eggs are buried in the sand by the female. The young geckos hatch after 54 to 70 days and are then about 4 cm long. They molt immediately and start feeding after 4 days.
literature
- Manfred Rogner : Lizards. Volume 1: geckos, pinnipeds, agamas, chameleons and iguanas. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8001-7248-8 .
- Sebastian Schenk, Sebastian Wolf: For keeping and breeding of the Palmatogeckos, Pachydactylus rangei Anderson, 1908. In: Terraria. Vol. 3, No. 1 = No. 13, 2008, ISSN 1613-1398 , pp. 60-65.
- Steven Arth, Sandra Baus: Palmatogecko. Pachydactylus rangei. Natur-und-Tier-Verlag, Münster 2012, ISBN 978-3-86659-172-1 .