The yellowbelly gecko (Phyllodactylus tuberculosus) is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is native to Mexico and Central America. There are two recognized subspecies.[2]

Yellowbelly gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Phyllodactylidae
Genus: Phyllodactylus
Species:
P. tuberculosus
Binomial name
Phyllodactylus tuberculosus
Wiegmann, 1834

Geographic range edit

P. tuberculosus is found in the southern Mexican states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Morelos, and Quintana Roo, and in the Central American countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.[1][2]

Habitat edit

The preferred natural habitat of P. tuberculosus is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,300 m (4,300 ft). It also is found in houses, where it hides during the day inside walls and in thatch roofs.[1]

Behavior edit

P. tuberculosus is terrestrial and predominately nocturnal.[1]

Diet edit

P. tuberculosus preys upon insects.[1]

Reproduction edit

P. tuberculosus is oviparous.[1][2]

Subspecies edit

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

  • Phyllodactylus tuberculosus ingeri Dixon, 1964 – Dixon's tuberculate gecko
  • Phyllodactylus tuberculosus tuberculosus Wiegmann, 1834geco panza amarilla

Etymology edit

The subspecific name, ingeri, is in honor of American herpetologist Robert F. Inger.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Chaves, G.; Flores-Villela, O.; Lamar, W.; Porras, L.W. (2013). "Phyllodactylus tuberculosus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T198394A2524461. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T198394A2524461.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Phyllodactylus tuberculosus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  3. ^ 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. (Phyllodactylus tuberculosus ingeri, p. 129).

Further reading edit

  • Grismer LL, Grismer MS (1987). "Phyllodactylus tuberculosus. Distribution." Herpetological Review 18: 40.
  • Ramírez-Reyes T, Flores-Villela O, Piñero D, Lathrop A, Murphy RW (2021). "Genomic assessment of the Phyllodactylus tuberculosus complex (Reptilia: Phyllodactylidae) in America". Zoologica Scripta 50 (5): 529–542.
  • Savage JM (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. xx + 945 pp. ISBN 0-226-73537-0.
  • Wiegmann AFA (1834). "Beiträge zur Zoologie, gesammelt auf einer Reise um die Erde. Siebente Abhandlung. Amphibien ". Verhandlungen der Kaiserlichen Leoplodinisch-Carolinischen Akademie der Naturforscher. Nova Acta Physico-Medico, Academiae Caesare Leopoldino-Carolinae 17 (1): 185–268 + Plates XIII–XXII. (Phyllodactylus tuberculosus, new species, p. 241). (in German and Latin).