Boulton's Namib day gecko

Boulton's Namib day gecko (Rhoptropus boultoni), also known commonly as Boulton's slender gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Boulton's Namib day gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Rhoptropus
Species:
R. boultoni
Binomial name
Rhoptropus boultoni
Schmidt, 1933

Etymology

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The specific name, boultoni, is in honor of American ornithologist Wolfrid Rudyerd Boulton.[2]

Geographic range

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R. boultoni is found in Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.[3]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitat of R. boultoni is rocky areas of savanna, at altitudes of 50–1,300 m (160–4,270 ft).[1]

Description

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Dorsally, R. boultoni is olive-brown to dark grey, mottled with maroon. Ventrally, it is lighter gray to bluish gray. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 5.5–7 cm (2.2–2.8 in).[4]

Reproduction

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R. boultoni is oviparous.[3] The adult female lays a clutch of two eggs.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bauer, A.M.; Becker, F.; Conradie, W.; Ceríaco, L.M.P. (2020). "Rhoptropus boultoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T120686434A120906493. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T120686434A120906493.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Rhoptropus boultoni, p. 35).
  3. ^ a b Rhoptropus boultoni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b 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. ISBN 0-88359-042-5, (Rhoptropus boultoni, p. 268 + Plate 92).

Further reading

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  • Gates BC (2010). "Day Geckos of Damaraland: Rhoptropus barnardi Hewitt, 1926, Rhoptropus boultoni Schmidt, 1933, and Rhoptropus diporus Haacke, 1965". Gekko 6 (1): 56–60.
  • Loveridge A (1947). "Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Geckonidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 98: 1–469. (Rhoptropus boultoni boultoni, pp. 291–292).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Rhoptropus boultoni, p. 109). (in German).
  • Schmidt KP (1933). "The Reptiles of the Pulitzer Angola Expedition". Annals of the Carnegie Museum 22 (1): 1–15. (Rhoptropus boultoni, new species, p. 7).