Robust velvet gecko

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Robust velvet gecko
Systematics
Superordinate : Scale lizards (Lepidosauria)
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Geckos (gekkota)
Family : Double- fingered geckos (Diplodactylidae)
Genre : Nebulifera
Type : Robust velvet gecko
Scientific name of the  genus
Nebulifera
Oliver , Bauer , Greenbaum , Jackman & Hobbie , 2012
Scientific name of the  species
Nebulifera robusta
( Boulenger , 1885)

The robust velvet gecko ( Nebulifera robusta , syn .: Oedura robusta ) is a tree-dwelling species of the gecko-like from the family of the double- fingered geckos (Diplodactylidae). It is the only species in the monotypic genus Nebulifera and is native to eastern Australia .

features

The species reaches a head-torso length of up to 8 centimeters so it is one of the larger Australian gecko species. The tail can be almost the same length as the body. The basic color of the animals is purple, the back is marked by large light purple spots that are reminiscent of clouds of fog. This drawing led to the genus name Nebulifera . There are very small scales on the back that are much smaller than the ventral scales .

The head is very flat, the muzzle is longer than the distance between the animal's eye and ear. The eye is about twice the diameter of the ear opening. In the male, 2 to 5 tubercles can be found around the cloaca . The tail is broad and strongly flattened. However, it is not quite as wide as the body and tapers to the rear.

The adhesive lamellas on the feet are widened, which are probably used for climbing trees.

distribution

The robust velvet gecko is only native to eastern Australia in the states of New South Wales and Queensland . The species lives in trees or in rocky areas and can also adapt to life near homes in the Australian bush or even to park-like niches in cities like Brisbane .

Systematics and taxonomy

The robust velvet gecko ( Nebulifera robusta ) has long been part of the Oedura genus . In their work A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia , published in 1983, Wells and Wellington proposed that Nebulifera robusta be separated as a separate genus Amalosia along with three other species of the genus Oedura . The work was controversial and hardly implemented by the scientists studying Australia's geckos. In 2012, after molecular genetic studies by Oliver et al. the view of Wells and Wellington with regard to the genus Amalosia largely confirmed, since two of the four species they identified could be grouped together as a separate clade . However, Nebulifera robusta was not placed in the genus Amalosia , as suggested by Wells and Wellington , but as the only species in the newly established monotypical genus Nebulifera .

literature

  • George Albert Boulenger : Catalog of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume 1: Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ. 2nd edition. Printed by Order of the Trustees, London 1885, p. 106 , (first description).
  • Harold G. Cogger : Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia. 7th edition. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood 2014, ISBN 978-0-64310035-0 .
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Henkel, Wolfgang Schmidt: Geckos. Biology, husbandry, breeding. 2nd, completely revised edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8001-3854-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harold G. Cogger: Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia. 7th edition. 2014.
  2. ^ George Albert Boulenger: Catalog of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume 1: Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ. 2nd edition. Printed by Order of the Trustees, London 1885, p. 106.
  3. ^ Robert Browne-Cooper, Brian Bush, Brad Maryan, David Robinson: Reptiles and Frogs in the Bush. Southwestern Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands 2007, ISBN 978-1-920694-74-6 , pp. 121-122.
  4. ↑ Nebulifera robusta , image and distribution area with map in the Australian Reptile Online Database, accessed on November 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b Paul M. Oliver, Aaron M. Bauer, Eli Greenbaum, Todd Jackman, Tara Hobbie: Molecular phylogenetics of the arboreal Australian gecko genus Oedura Gray 1842 (Gekkota: Diplodactylidae): Another plesiomorphic grade? In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Vol. 63, No. 2, 2012, pp. 255-264, doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2011.12.013 .
  6. ^ Richard Walter Wells, Cliff Ross Wellington: A synopsis of the class Reptilia in Australia. In: Australian Journal of Herpetology. Vol. 1, No. 3/4. 1984, ISSN  0728-4683 , pp. 73-129.

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