Nephrurus sheai, also known commonly as the Kimberley rough knob-tailed gecko and the northern knob-tailed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Carphodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Nephrurus sheai
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Carphodactylidae
Genus: Nephrurus
Species:
N. sheai
Binomial name
Nephrurus sheai
Couper, 1994

Etymology edit

The specific name, sheai, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Glenn Michael Shea (born 1961).[2]

Geographic range edit

N. sheai is found in Northern Territory and Western Australia.[3]

Habitat edit

The preferred natural habitats of N. sheai are dry caves, rocky areas, and forest.[1]

Diet edit

N. sheai is known to prey upon Lepidopteran larvae (caterpillars), Isoptera (termites), and Gastropoda (land snails).[4]

Reproduction edit

N. sheai is oviparous.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Teale, R.; Melville, J.; Doughty, P.; Wilson, S.; Ellis, R. (2017). "Nephrurus sheai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T102663979A102664011. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T102663979A102664011.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ 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. (Nephrurus sheai, p. 242).
  3. ^ a b Species Nephrurus sheai at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ^ Paluh DJ, Bauer AM (2016). "Nephrurus sheai (Northern Knob-tailed Gecko). Diet". Herpetological Review 47 (3): 466–467.

Further reading edit

  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350. (Nephrurus sheai, p. 267).
  • Couper PJ, Gregson RAM (1994). "Redescription of Nephrurus asper Günther, and description of N. amyae sp. nov. and N. sheai sp. nov." Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 37 (1): 53–67. ("Nephrurus sheai Couper", new species, pp. 63–66, Figure 5).
  • Ellis RJ, Doughty P, Bauer AM (2018). "An annotated type catalogue of the geckos and pygopods (Squamata: Gekkota: Carphodactylidae, Diplodactylidae, Gekkonidae, Pygopodidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum". Records of the Western Australian Museum 33: 51–94. (Nephrurus sheai, pp. 55–56).
  • Oliver PM, Bauer AM (2011). "Systematics and evolution of the Australian knob-tailed geckos (Nephrurus, Carphodactylidae, Gekkota): Plesiomorphic grades and biome shifts through the Miocene". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59: 664–674.
  • Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.