Switak's banded gecko

Switak's banded gecko (Coleonyx switaki), also commonly known as the barefoot banded gecko, the barefoot gecko, and Switak's barefoot gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Eublepharidae. The species is indigenous to the extreme southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico.

Switak's banded gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Eublepharidae
Genus: Coleonyx
Species:
C. switaki
Binomial name
Coleonyx switaki
(R. Murphy, 1974)
Synonyms[2]
  • Anarbylus switaki
    R. Murphy, 1974
  • Coleonyx swaitaki [sic]
    Stebbins, 1985
    (ex errore)
  • Coleonyx switaki
    — Kluge, 1993

Etymology

The specific name, switaki, is in honor of German herpetologist Karl-Heinz Switak (born 1938).[3]

Geographic range

C. switaki is native to southern California in the United States and Baja California and Baja California Sur in Mexico.[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. switaki are desert and rocky areas.[1]

Taxonomy

Coleonyx gypsicolus, which is endemic to Isla San Marcos in Mexico, is sometimes considered a subspecies of C. switaki.

Description

C. switaki reaches a snout-to-vent length of 5.1–8.6 centimetres (2.0–3.4 in). The body of C. switaki is covered in round brown spots. Despite one of its common names, Switak's banded gecko, C. switaki has a variable color pattern that may not feature bands.[4]

Reproduction

C. switaki is oviparous.[2]

References
  1. Hollingsworth, B.; Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Coleonyx switaki". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T64038A12738943. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64038A12738943.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Species Coleonyx switaki at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 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. (Coleonyx switaki, p. 259).
  4. "Coleonyx switaki switaki - Peninsular Banded Gecko". California Reptiles & Amphibians. Retrieved 2009-06-28.

Further reading
  • Grismer LL (2001). "Geographic Variation of Color Pattern in Peninsular Populations of Coleonyx switaki (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Baja California, Mexico and Southern California". Gekko 2 (1): 14–19.
  • Jones LLC, Lovich RE (2009). Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Tucson, Arizona: Rio Nuevo Publishers. 568 pp.
  • Murphy RW (1974). "A new genus and species of eublepharine gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Baja California, Mexico". Proc. California Acad. Sci., Fourth Series 40: 87-92. (Anarbylus switaki, new species).
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentirte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Coleonyx switaki, p. 63). (in German).
  • Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 533 pp. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Coleonyx switaki, pp. 265–266 + Plate 24 + Map 75).



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