Sphaerodactylus richardsonii

Sphaerodactylus richardsonii, also known commonly as Richardson's least gecko or the northern Jamaica banded sphaero, is a small species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to Jamaica.^[2]

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Suborder:Gekkota

Quick facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...

Sphaerodactylus richardsonii

S. richardsonii, drawing by E.N. Fischer, from Barbour, 1921
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Gekkota
Family:	Sphaerodactylidae
Genus:	Sphaerodactylus
Species:	S. richardsonii
Binomial name
*Sphaerodactylus richardsonii* Gray, 1845

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Etymology

The specific name, richardsonii, is in honor of Scottish naturalist John Richardson.^[3]

The subspecific name, gossei, is in honor of English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse.^[4]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

Sphaerodactylus richardsonii gossei Grant, 1939
Sphaerodactylus richardsonii richardsonii Gray, 1845

Habitat

The preferred habitats of S. richardsonii are forest and shrubland.^[1]

Description

For its genus, S. richardson is stockily-built and long. Adults may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 4 cm (1.6 in) and a tail length of 3.5 cm (1.4 in). All the dorsal scales are large, keeled, and imbricate (overlapping). There is no middorsal granular row.^[5]

Reproduction

S. richardsonii is oviparous.^[2]

References

Barbour T (1921). "Sphaerodactylus ". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 47 (3): 215-282 + Plates 1–26. ("Sphaerodactylus richardsonii ", pp. 252–253 + Plate V, figure 3; Plate XIX, figures 1–4).
Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I-XXXII. ("Sphærodactylus richardsonii ", p. 227 + Plate XVIII, figure 6).
Grant C (1939). "Two New Sphaerodactyls from Jamaica". Copeia 1939 (1): 7-13. ("Sphaerodactylus richardsoni [sic] gossei ", new subspecies, p. 10).
Gray JE (1845). Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. ("Sphærodactylus Richardsonii [sic]", new species, pp. 168–169).
Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28-153. ("Sphaerodactylus richardsonii ", p. 114). (in German).
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 richardsoni [sic]", p. 527).
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 richardsoni [sic]", p. 160).
Wilson BS (2011). "Conservation of Jamaican amphibians and reptiles". pp. 273–310. In: Hailey A, Wilson BS, Horrocks JA, editors (2011). Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas Volume 2: Regional Accounts of the West Indies. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers. 440 pp. ISBN 978-9004194083. ("Sphaerodactylus richardsoni [sic]").

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Sphaerodactylus richardsonii

Etymology

Subspecies

Habitat

Description

Reproduction

References

Further reading

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