Brazilian pygmy gecko
The Brazilian pygmy gecko (Chatogekko amazonicus) is a species of South American lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is monotypic in the genus Chatogekko.[2] It grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of only 24 millimetres (0.94 in). It is found in leaf litter on the forest floor, and preys on springtails and mites.[3][4] The species is oviparous.[1]
| Brazilian pygmy gecko | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Sphaerodactylidae |
| Genus: | Chatogekko Gamble, Daza, Colli, Vitt & Bauer, 2011 |
| Species: | C. amazonicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Chatogekko amazonicus (Andersson, 1918) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
The gecko's skin is highly hydrophobic, to the degree that Chatogekko amazonicus is able to avoid drowning in rainstorms despite its small size, and even float on water.[5]
The following cladogram presented by Gamble et al. in 2011 represents phylogenetic relationships among the genera of sphaerodactyl geckos which were recognized as being valid at that time.[2]
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References
- Uetz, Peter; Hallermann, Jakob; Hosek, Jiri. "Coleodactylus amazonicus (ANDERSSON, 1918)". Reptile Database.
- Gamble, Tony; Daza, Juan D.; Colli, Guarino R.; Vitt, Laurie J.; Bauer, Aaron M. [in French] (2011). "A new genus of miniaturized and pug-nosed gecko from South America (Sphaerodactylidae: Gekkota)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163 (4): 1244–1266. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00741.x. PMC 3223738. PMID 22125341. (Chatogekko, new genus).
- Pianka, Eric R.; Vitt, Laurie J. (2006). Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-520-24847-2.
- Zug, George R. [in German]; Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2001). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles, Second Edition. San Diego, California: Academic Press. p. 480. ISBN 978-0-12-782622-6.
- "BBC One - Life, Reptiles and Amphibians, Floating lizard". BBC. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
Further reading
- Andersson LG (1918). "New Lizards from South America. Collected by Nils Holmgren and A. Roman". Arkiv för Zoologi 1 (16): 1–9. (Sphærodactylus amazonicus, new species, pp. 1–2).