Peringuey's leaf-toed gecko explained

Peringuey's leaf-toed gecko (Cryptactites peringueyi), also known commonly as the salt marsh gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to South Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, peringueyi, is in honor of French entomologist Louis Péringuey.^[1]

Description

C. peringueyi is particularly tiny, not growing more than about in total length (including tail), making it the smallest lizard in the region, along with the striped dwarf leaf-toed gecko of the Western Cape. It has a red-brown body sometimes with thin, pale dark stripes.

Behavior and reproduction

Peringuey's leaf-toed gecko is nocturnal and lives in matted marsh vegetation where it lays two minute eggs in summer.

Geographic range and habitat

C. peringueyi is endemic to South Africa, being restricted to a few salt marshes in the Eastern Cape.

Conservation status

C. peringueyi was believed to be extinct for a long time, but a tiny population was rediscovered in 1992 by the estuary of the Kromme river.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1910). "A Revised List of the South African Reptiles and Batrachians, with Synoptic Tables, special reference to the specimens in the South African Museum, and Descriptions of New Species". Ann. South African Mus. 5: 455–538. (Phyllodactylus peringueyi, new species, pp. 493–494).
• Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Cryptactites peringueyi, p. 239 + Plate 108).

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Cryptactites peringueyi, p. 203).