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Cope's least gecko

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cope's least gecko
Sphaerodactylus copei,
drawing by E.N. Fischer from Barbour, 1921
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Sphaerodactylus
Species:
S. copei
Binomial name
Sphaerodactylus copei
Synonyms[2]
  • Sphaerodactylus anthracinus
    Cope, 1862
  • Sphaerodactylus copei
    Steindachner, 1867
  • Sphaerodactylus copii [sic]
    Boulenger, 1885
  • Sphaerodactylus asper
    Garman, 1888
  • Sphaerodactylus copei
    Schwartz & Henderson, 1991

Cope's least gecko (Sphaerodactylus copei) is a species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to the West Indies.

Etymology

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The specific name, copei, is in honor of American herpetologist and paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope.[3]

Geographic range

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S. copei is found in Haiti and the Bahamas.[2] Whether the Bahamian populations result from introductions or natural dispersal is debated.[1]

Habitat

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The preferred habitat of S. copei is forest at altitudes of 0–900 m (0–2,953 ft).[1]

Reproduction

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S. copei is oviparous.[2]

Subspecies

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Nine subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hedges B (2016). "Sphaerodactylus copei (errata version published in 2017)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T75605377A115486715. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T75605377A75607694.en. Downloaded on 27 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Sphaerodactylus copei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  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. (Sphaerodactylus copei, p. 59).

Further reading

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  • Barbour T (1921). "Sphaerodactylus ". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 47 (3): 215-282. (Sphaerodactylus copei, pp. 259–260 + Plate 7, figure 2; Plate 21, figures 5–8).
  • Garman S (1887). "On West Indian Geckonidæ and Anguidæ". Bulletin of the Essex Institute 19: 17-24. (Sphærodactylus picturatus, new species, pp. 19–20).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha) ". Gekkota 2: 28-153. (Sphaerodactylus copei, p. 111). (in German).
  • Schwartz A (1975). "New Subspecies of Sphaerodactylus copei Steindachner (Sauria, Gekkonidae) from Hispaniola". Herpetologica 31 (1): 1-18. (Sphaerodactylus copei astreptus, new subspecies; S. c. deuterus, new subspecies; S. c. pelates, new subspecies; S. c. websteri, new subspecies).
  • Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN 978-0813010496. (Sphaerodactylus copei, p. 480).
  • Schwartz A, Thomas R (1965). "Subspeciation in Sphaerodactylus copei ". Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 27 (4): 316-332. (Sphaerodactylus copei cataplexis, new subspecies, pp. 326–330; S. c. enochrus, new subspecies, pp. 322–324).
  • Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Sphaerodactylus copei, pp. 146–148).
  • Steindachner F (1867). "Reptilien ". pp. 1–98. In: von Scherzer K (1867). Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859 [unter den Befehlen des Kommodore] B. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair. Zoologischer Theil. Erster Band. (Wirbelthiere). Vienna: Kaiserlich-Könlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei/ Karl Gerold's Sohn. (Sphaerodactylus copei, new species, pp. 18–19). (in German).
  • Thomas R (1968). "Notes on Antillean Geckos (Sphaerodactylus)". Herpetologica 24 (1): 46-60. (Sphaerodactylus copei polyommatus, new subspecies).