Luperosaurus is a genus of lizards, commonly known as camouflage geckos,[2] fringed geckos, wolf geckos,[3] and flap-legged geckos, in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is native to Southeast Asia.[4]

Luperosaurus
Luperosaurus kubli.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Subfamily: Gekkoninae
Genus: Luperosaurus
Gray, 1845[1]

Geographic range edit

Species in the genus Luperosaurus are found in the Southeast Asian mainland and archipelago, extending from the Malay Peninsula, through the Philippines and Indonesia.

Description edit

These are small geckos, characterized by the flaps of skin on the front and rear of their limbs and sometimes, along their bodies.

Taxonomy edit

The original spelling intended was Lyperosaurus (= vexing gecko), for possessing characters from two different genera known to John Edward Gray, who named the genus. Most species of Lupersaurus are known from one or a few specimens.

Behavior edit

Members of the genus Luperosaurus are presumably highly arboreal.

Species edit

The following 9 species are recognized as being valid.[3]

(Boulenger, 1920) - Brooks's wolf gecko

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Luperosaurus.

References edit

  1. ^ "Luperosaurus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). www.itis.gov.
  2. ^ Das I (2006). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Borneo. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-061-1. (Genus Luperosaurus, pp. 103-104),
  3. ^ a b Genus Luperosaurus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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. (Luperosaurus brooksii, p. 40; L. browni, p. 40; L. corfieldi, p. 59; L. cumingi, p. 62; L. iskandari, p. 131; L. joloensis, p. 261; L. macgregori, p. 164; L. yasumai, p. 292).

Further reading edit

  • 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. (Genus Luperosaurus, p. 181).
  • Brown RM, Diesmos AC (2000). "The lizard genus Luperosaurus: taxonomy, history, and conservation prospects for some of the world's rarest lizards". Sylvatrop: Technical Journal of Philippine Ecosystems and Natural Resources 10: 107–124.
  • Das I (2005). "Nomenclatural Notes on the Generic Nomen Luperosaurus Gray, 1845 (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". Herpetological Review 36 (2): 117-118.
  • Gray JE (1845). Catalogue of the Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. (Luperosaurus, new genus, p. 163).