Ptenopus garrulus
Species of lizard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ptenopus garrulus, also known commonly as the common barking gecko and the whistling gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa. There are two recognized subspecies.[2]
| Common barking gecko | |
|---|---|
| Wails in Namibia. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Gekkota |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Genus: | Ptenopus |
| Species: | P. garrulus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ptenopus garrulus (A. Smith, 1849) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Description
The dorsal coloration of P. garrulus varies from reddish brown to grayish yellow to match the local substrate. Ventrally, it is white. The toes are strongly fringed. It has 110–190 rows of scales around the body at midbody. The subspecies P.g. garrulus has more than 160 rows, but the subspecies P. g. maculatus has fewer than 160 rows. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 4.5–6 cm (1.8–2.4 in), which is relatively small for the genus.[3]
Geographic range
Habitat
Behavior
P. garrulus is terrestrial and fossorial. Males vocalize from the entrances of their burrows at dusk and on moonlit nights.[1]
Diet
Reproduction
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Ptenopus.
Gallery
- Barking from lair
- Nominate subspecies,
P. g. garrulus - P. g. maculatus