The Auckland green gecko (Naultinus elegans), also known as the elegant gecko,[3] is a species of gecko found only in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand, except north of Whangaroa.
| Auckland green gecko | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Diplodactylidae |
| Genus: | Naultinus |
| Species: | N. elegans
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| Binomial name | |
| Naultinus elegans Gray, 1842
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy
editThe species was described by John Edward Gray in 1842.[4] In 1872, Frederick Hutton described the Nelson green gecko as a subspecies, Naultinus elegans stellatus,[5] which was elevated to species status in 1982.[6] In 1980, the Wellington green gecko was synonymised as a subspecies of Naultinus elegans, with the Auckland green gecko being referred to as Naultinus elegans elegans and the Wellington green gecko as Naultinus elegans punctatus.[7] In 2014 the species name was standardised as Naultinus punctatus.[8] The Wellington green gecko is found in the southern half of the North Island, and can hybridise with the Auckland green gecko in places where their ranges overlap.
Description
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Gray's original text (the type description) reads as follows:
Thumbs clawed: green, rather paler beneath; streak along the under lip, the ears, two arched stripes on the top of the head, irregular shaped spots on each side of the back and hind legs, interrupted streak along each side of the body and tail, white, with a narrow black edge, with a cross series of 3 compressed larger scales at the base of the tail.[4]
The species can grow up to 75 mm (3.0 in) in length, and is recognisable by its bright green colouration.[3]
Apart from range, the Auckland green gecko differs from the Wellington green gecko in that it is marginally smaller and more slender in build and also the undersurfaces of the feet and toes in elegans are coloured grey green, while they are yellow in colouration in the latter species.
Distribution and habitat
editThe species is found in the upper half of the North Island, except north of Whangaroa, as well as four of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.[3]
Conservation status
editIn 2012 the Department of Conservation classified the Auckland green gecko as At Risk under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. It was judged as meeting the criteria for At Risk threat status as a result of it having a low to high ongoing or predicted decline.[1]
See also
editReferences
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- ^ a b Hitchmough, Rod; Anderson, Peter; Barr, Ben; Monks, Jo; Lettink, Marieke; Reardon, James; Tocher, Mandy; Whitaker, Tony. "Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2012" (PDF). Department of Conservation. The Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b c van Winkel, Dylan; Baling, Marleen; Hitchmough, Rod (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand (1st ed.). Auckland: Auckland University Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-86940-937-1. OL 40449345M. Wikidata Q76013985.
- ^ a b "Description of two hitherto unrecorded species of reptiles from New Zealand; presented to the British Museum by Dr. Dieffenbach". The zoological miscellany. 2. London: Treuttel, Würtz & Co.
- ^ Hutton, F.W. (1872). "Notes on the Lizards of New Zealand, with Descriptions of Two New Species". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 4: 167–172. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q130305243.
- ^ Thomas, B.W. (1982). "A review of the herpetofauna of southern New Zealand with some taxonomic considerations". Herpetofauna. 14: 22−34.
- ^ Robb, J.; Hitchmough, R. A. (1979). "Review of the Genus Naultinus Gray (Reptilia: Gekkonidae)". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 16: 189–200. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42906281. Wikidata Q58677118.
- ^ Bell, Trent (2014). "Standardized common names for New Zealand reptiles". BioGecko. 2: 8–11.