Rhoptropus bradfieldi

Bradfield's Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus bradfieldi) is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.[1] This species was first described in 1935 by the British-born, South African zoologist John Hewitt, who gave it the name Rhoptropus bradfieldi in honour of the South African naturalist and collector R.D. Bradfield.[2]

Rhoptropus bradfieldi
A Bradfield's Namib day gecko on a rock, Namibia, 2008
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Rhoptropus
Species:
R. bradfieldi
Binomial name
Rhoptropus bradfieldi
Hewitt, 1935

Description

Rhoptropus bradfieldi has a maximum snout-to-vent length of about 60 mm (2.4 in), and a total length of about 100 to 130 mm (4 to 5 in). The dorsal surface is greyish-brown, indistinctly barred and dappled, and the ventral surface is bluish-grey. There are eleven scansors (specialist structures for adhesion) under the middle toe. This gecko is similar in appearance to the Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus afer), but that species is slightly smaller, has bright yellow underparts and only six scansors under the middle digit.[3] The difference in scansor number between the two species, and the much shorter setae from which the scansors are formed in R. afer, are reflected in different lifestyles; R. bradfieldi, with more-adhesive feet, is a crevice-dweller with a slow, climbing lifestyle, while R. afer is much more terrestrial, running rapidly on the ground and jumping from rock to rock.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Rhoptropus bradfieldi is endemic to Namibia. Its typical habitat is rocks and boulders in arid regions of the Namib Desert.[5]

Ecology

Rhoptropus bradfieldi is a diurnal lizard and is an ambush predator of small arthropods. Its body is maintained at a high but steady temperature while it is active. It has a low field metabolic rate, about 26% of that of other desert lizards, but a relatively high water intake, which it probably fulfils from the fogs that often occur near the coast.[5]

References
  1. Rhoptropus bradfieldi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 July 2016.
  2. Bo Beolens; Michael Watkins & Michael Grayson (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. JHU Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-4214-0227-7.
  3. Branch, Bill (2016). Pocket Guide Snakes and other reptiles of Southern Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-77584-377-1.
  4. Johnson, Megan K. & Russell, Anthony P. (2009). "Configuration of the setal fields of Rhoptropus (Gekkota: Gekkonidae): functional, evolutionary, ecological and phylogenetic implications of observed pattern". Journal of Anatomy. 214 (6): 937–955. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01075.x. PMC 2705302.
  5. Murray, Ian W.; Fuller, Andrea; Lease, Hilary M.; Mitchell, Duncan; Wolf, Blair O. & Hetem, Robyn S. (2015). "Low field metabolic rates for geckos of the genus Rhoptropus may not be surprising". Journal of Arid Environments. 113: 35–42. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.09.006.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.