Sphaerodactylus argus

Sphaerodactylus argus, also known commonly as the ocellated gecko, the ocellated sphaero, and the stippled sphaero, is a species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is indigenous to the Caribbean. There are two recognized subspecies

"Ocellated gecko" redirects here. For the African species also called ocellated gecko, see Pachydactylus geitje.

Sphaerodactylus argus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Sphaerodactylus
Species:
S. argus
Binomial name
Sphaerodactylus argus
Gosse, 1850[2]

Etymology

The specific name, argus, refers to Argus, the many-eyed giant in Greek mythology, an allusion to the ocelli (eye spots) of this species.[3]

Geographic range

S. argus is native only to Jamaica .[4] It is also found in Cuba and on adjacent islets, in the Bahamas, and in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. S. argus can be found in the Florida Keys, where it has well-established populations, though it was not native there.[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of S. argus is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 100 m (330 ft). A climbing species, it can also be seen on walls and in buildings.[1]

Diet

S. argus feeds on insects and other small invertebrates.

Reproduction

S. argus is oviparous.[5]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[4][5]

  • Sphaerodactylus argus andresensis Dunn & Saxe, 1950
  • Sphaerodactylus argus argus Gosse, 1850

References
  1. Caicedo, J.R.; Lee, J.; Mandujano, R.C.; Wilson, B.S.; Hedges, S.B.; Fong, A. (2017). "Sphaerodactylus argus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T198439A2526550. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T198439A2526550.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Gosse PH (1850). "Description of a new genus and six new species of Saurian Reptiles". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Second Series 6: 344-348. ("Sphærodactylus Argus ", new species, p. 347).
  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. (Sphaerodactylus argus, p. 11).
  4. Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Sphaerodactylus argus, p. 144).
  5. Species Sphaerodactylus argus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading
  • Dunn ER, Saxe LH (1950). "Results of the Catherwood-Chaplin West Indies Expedition, 1948. Part 5. Amphibians and Reptiles of San Andrés and Providencia". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 102: 141–165. (Sphaerodactylus argus andresensis, new subspecies, p. 148).
  • Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 Plates, 207 Figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Sphaerodactylus argus, p. 269 + Plate 24).


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