Sphaerodactylus ariasae

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

Sphaerodactylus ariasae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Sphaerodactylus
Species:
S. ariasae
Binomial name
Sphaerodactylus ariasae

Description

Sphaerodactylus ariasae is one of the world's two smallest known reptiles. The other is S. parthenopion, native to the British Virgin Islands. The Jaragua sphaero measures 16–18 mm (0.63–0.71 in) from the snout to the base of the tail and can fit on a US 25-cent coin.

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.[2]

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.[3]

Etymology

The Jaragua sphaero's binomial name was chosen in honor of herpetologist Yvonne Arias,[4] the leader of the Dominican conservation organization Grupo Jaragua, which was instrumental in securing the environmental protection of Jaragua National Park.[5][6]

References
  1. Landestoy M, Inchaustegui S, 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. Hedges, S. Blair; Thomas, Richard (2001). "At the Lower Size Limit in Amniote Vertebrates: A New Diminutive Lizard from the West Indies" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 37 (3–4): 168–173. (Sphaerodactylus ariasae, new species).
  3. "Tiny gecko is 'world's smallest'". BBC. 3 December 2001. Sci/tech News. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  4. Sphaerodactylus ariasae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2015-02-21.
  5. "World's Smallest Reptile Discovered in Caribbean". Conservation.org (Press release). Conservation International. 3 December 2001. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Sphaerodactylus ariasae, p. 11).
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