Wahlberg's Kalahari gecko explained

Wahlberg's Kalahari gecko (Pachydactylus wahlbergii), also known commonly as the Kalahari ground gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, wahlbergii, is in honor of Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg.^[1]

Geographic range

P. wahlbergii is found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

Description

P. wahlbergii is small, elongate, and pretty. Snout-to-vent length (SVL) of adults is 4.5–.^[2]

Reproduction

P. wahlbergii is oviparous. The adult female lays a clutch of two eggs.^[2]

Subspecies

The genus contains two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, which are recognized as being valid:

• Pachydactylus wahlbergii furcifer
• Pachydactylus wahlbergii wahlbergii

Further reading

• 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. (Colopus wahlbergii, p. 208).
• Haacke WD (1976). "The burrowing geckos of southern Africa, 3 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae). Annotated taxonomic account (cont.) D. Genus Colopus Peters". Annals of the Transvaal Museum 30: 29–39. (Colopus wahlbergii furcifer, new subspecies).
• Peters W (1869). "Eine Mittheilung über neue Gattungen und Arten von Eidechsen ". Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zur Berlin 1869: 57-66 + one plate. (Colopus wahlbergii, new species, p. 57 + figures 1, 1a-1f). (in German and Latin).

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Colopus wahlbergii, p. 278).
2. [:fr:William Roy Branch|Branch, Bill]