Greeff's giant gecko explained
Greeff's giant gecko (Hemidactylus greeffii), also known commonly as Greeff's gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is found on islands in the Gulf of Guinea off the east coast of Africa.
Etymology
The specific name, greeffii, is in honor of German zoologist Richard Greeff,[1] who collected the holotype when he lived on São Tomé Island in 1879–1880.[2]
Geographic range
H. greeffii is endemic to the island of São Tomé and the associated islet of Ilhéu das Rolas, both in the nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. It does not occur on the island of Príncipe.
Habitat
H. greeffii is found at altitudes from sea level to . Although its natural habitat at these elevations has been disturbed, it is still found on tree trunks, stone walls, concrete structures such as culverts and tunnels, and on the exterior of buildings. Unlike other gecko species, it does not live inside inhabited houses.
Reproduction
H. greeffii is oviparous.
Taxonomy
The species H. greeffii was described and named by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1886.[2]
Further reading
- Bocage, J. V. Barboza du (1886). "Reptis e Amphibios de S. Tomé ". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes, Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa 11: 65–70. (Hemidactylus greeffii, new species, pp. 66–68). (in Portuguese).
- Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ, Gerrhosauridæ, Scincidæ, Anelytropidæ, Dibamidæ, Chamæleontidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Hemidactylus greeffii, p. 484 in "Addenda and Corrigenda").
- Ceríaco LMP, Marques MP, de Sousa ACA, Veríssimo J, Beja P, Ferreira S (2023). "Illustrated keys and a DNA barcode reference library of the amphibians and terrestrial reptiles (Amphibia, Reptilia) of São Tomé and Príncipe (Gulf of Guinea, West Africa)". ZooKeys 1168: 41–75.
- Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Hemidactylus greeffii, p. 86). (in German).
Notes and References
- [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
- [José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage|Bocage JVB]
