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Sphaerodactylus ariasae

Species of reptile

Sphaerodactylus ariasae
Summary

Species of reptile

Sphaerodactylus ariasae, commonly called the Jaragua sphaero or the Jaragua dwarf gecko, is the smallest species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae.

Description

Sphaerodactylus ariasae is the world's smallest known reptile. The second-smallest is S. parthenopion, native to the British Virgin Islands. The Jaragua sphaero measures 14–18 mm (0.55–0.71 in) from the snout to the base of the tail and can fit on a US 25-cent coin. It has an average weight of 0.13 g (0.0045 oz).

Geographic range

The geographic range of S. ariasae is believed to be limited to Jaragua National Park, in the southernmost tip of the Barahona Peninsula, in the extreme southwest of the Dominican Republic and nearby forested Beata Island on Hispaniola.

Gravid female

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. ariasae is the leaf litter of the forest floor of dry forests with limestone substratum. File:Beata island dry forests P5210593.jpg|Habitat of S. ariasae in Beata island. Large trees grow on certain parts of the island, including sinkholes, which are surrounded by xeric scrub. File:Beata island karst understory P5210597.jpg|Microhabitat of S. ariasae in Beata island, consisting of patches of leaf litter deposited over karstified limestone.

Reproduction

S. ariasae is oviparous.

Taxonomy

S. ariasae was first described by Blair Hedges, a Pennsylvania State University evolutionary biologist, and Richard Thomas, a University of Puerto Rico biologist, in the December 2001 issue of the Caribbean Journal of Science.

Etymology

The Jaragua sphaero's binomial name was chosen in honor of herpetologist Yvonne Arias,

References

References

  1. [[Miguel A. Landestoy. Landestoy M]], [[Sixto Joaquín Incháustegui Miranda. Inchaustegui S]], [[Stephen Blair Hedges. Hedges B]] (2016). ''Sphaerodactylus ariasae'' (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T75605318A115485387. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T75605318A75607639.en. Downloaded on 26 February 2019.
  2. "Caribbean Journal of Science". University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.
  3. 978-1-4214-0135-5. (''Sphaerodactylus ariasae'', p. 11).
  4. (2001). "At the lower size limit in amniote vertebrates: a new diminutive lizard from the West Indies". Caribbean Journal of Science.
  5. (3 December 2001). "Tiny gecko is 'world's smallest'". BBC.
  6. {{NRDB species
  7. (3 December 2001). "World's Smallest Reptile Discovered in Caribbean". Conservation International.
Wikipedia Source

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sphaerodactylus lizards-of-the-caribbean endemic-fauna-of-the-dominican-republic reptiles-of-the-dominican-republic reptiles-described-in-2001 taxa-named-by-stephen-blair-hedges taxa-named-by-richard-thomas-(herpetologist)
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