Pristurus carteri
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Pristurus carteri, commonly known as Carter's rock gecko, Carter's semaphore gecko or the scorpion tailed gecko is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae.
Etymology
The generic name, Pristurus, means "saw-tailed" in Latin.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
The specific name, carteri, is in honor of Dr. Henry Carter who collected the holotype.[1]
Subspecies
There are two subspecies of Pristurus carteri. The first is the nominotypical subspecies, Pristurus carteri carteri (Gray, 1863), and the other is Pristurus carteri tuberculatus Parker, 1931,[2] P. c. carteri being the more common.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Common names
The species P. carteri has many common names such as Carter's rock gecko, ornate rock gecko, and scorpion-tailed gecko.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Geographic range and habitat
P. carteri is native to Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen,[2] where it often is found basking on rocks or in urban areas.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Behavior
P. carteri are often seen swaying their curly tails back and forth to each other in a way to sort of communicate to each other. The males develop little fleshy spikes on their tails upon reaching sexual maturity. When they feel threatened they curl their tails in a scorpion-like fashion and even mimic the movements a scorpion will use as a threat display; this and the tail waving are the source of the common name scorpion-tailed geckos.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Members of the genus Pristurus are diurnal. This is unusual in geckos except in the genera Phelsuma, Lygodactylus, Naultinus, Quedenfeldtia, Rhoptropus, all Sphaerodactylids, and, of course, Pristurus.[3]
Description
P. carteri may attain an average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of Script error: No such module "convert"., and a total length (including tail) of Script error: No such module "convert"..Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Reproduction
P. carteri reaches sexual maturity in roughly 10 months. Adult females lay 1–2 hard shelled eggs that are incubated at 28 °C (82.4 °F) for 70–90 days. Each neonate hatches out at a total length of about Script error: No such module "convert"..Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
References
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- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Pristurus carteri, p. 49).
- ↑ a b Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ Pianka ER, Vitt LJ (2003). Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. 346 pp. Template:ISBN. (Genus Pristurus, pp. 174, 179).
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Further reading
- 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. (Pristurus carteri, pp. 55–56).
- Gray JE (1863). "Description of a New Lizard obtained by Mr. Henry Carter on the South-east Coast of Arabia". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1863: 236-237 + Plate XX, figure 2. (Spatalura carteri, new species).
- Parker HW (1931). "Some Reptiles and Amphibians from S.E. Arabia". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Tenth Series 8: 514–522. (Pristurus carteri tuberculatus, new subspecies).