Exmouth spiny-tailed gecko

The Exmouth spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus rankini), also known commonly as Rankin's spiny-tailed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Western Australia.[2]

Exmouth spiny-tailed gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Diplodactylidae
Genus: Strophurus
Species:
S. rankini
Binomial name
Strophurus rankini
(Storr, 1979)
Synonyms[2]
  • Diplodactylus rankini
    Storr, 1979
  • Strophurus rankini
    — Wells & Wellington, 1984

Etymology

The specific name, rankini, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Peter Rankin (1955–1979), who was collecting lizards at night in New Caledonia, when he fell from a tree and died.[3]

Geographic range

S. rankini is found in the Exmouth Gulf region of coastal Western Australia, including Bernier Island.[2]

Habitat

The natural habitat of S. rankini is shrubland in the supralittoral zone.[1]

Description

S. rankini may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 6.3 cm (2.5 in). The length of the tail is about two-thirds the SVL. Dorsally, S. rankini is pale gray, darker on the snout and lips. Ventrally, it is grayish white.[4]

Reproduction

S. rankini is oviparous.[2]

References
  1. Wilson S, Oliver P (2017). "Strophurus rankini ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T102702121A102702182. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T102702121A102702182.en. Downloaded on 05 December 2019.
  2. Species Strophurus rankini at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Strophurus rankini, p. 217).
  4. Storr (1979).

Further reading
  • Ellis RJ, Doughty P, Bauer AM (2018). "An annotated type catalogue of the geckos and pygopods (Squamata: Gekkota: Carphodactylidae, Diplodactylidae, Gekkonidae, Pygopodidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum". Records of the Western Australian Museum 33 (1): 051–094.
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Laube A, Langner C (2007). "Die Gattung Strophurus". Draco 8 (29): 49–66. (in German).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28-153. (Strophurus rankini, p. 115). (in German).
  • Storr GM (1979). "Five new lizards from Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum 8 (1): 134–142. (Diplodactylus rankini, new species, pp. 134–136, Plate 1).
  • Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.
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