The wonder gecko (Teratoscincus keyserlingii), also known commonly as the giant frog-eyed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to parts of Asia.

Persian wonder gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Teratoscincus
Species:
T. keyserlingii
Binomial name
Teratoscincus keyserlingii
Strauch, 1863
Synonyms
  • Teratoscincus keyserlingii
    Strauch, 1863
  • Teratoscincus zarudnyi
    Nikolsky, 1896
  • Teratoscincus scincus keyserlingii
    Szczerbak & Golubev, 1996
  • Teratoscincus keyserlingii
    Macey et al., 2005

Etymology edit

The specific name, keyserlingii, is in honor of Alexander von Keyserling, who was a Baltic German geologist and biologist.[1]

Geographic range edit

T. keyserlingii is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates.[2]

Description edit

The holotype of T. keyserlingii has a total length of 15.8 cm (6.2 in), which includes a tail 5.6 cm (2.2 in) long.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ 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. (Teratoscincus keyserlingii, p. 140).
  2. ^ Teratoscincus keyserlingii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  3. ^ Strauch (1863).

Further reading edit

  • Macey, J. Robert; Fong, Jonathan J.; Keuhl, Jennifer V.; Shafiei, Soheila; Ananjeva, Natalia B.; Papenfuss, Theodore J.; Boore, Jeffrey L. (2005). "The complete mitochondrial genome of a gecko and the phylogenetic position of the Middle Eastern Teratoscincus keyserlingii ". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36: 188–193.
  • Strauch A (1863). "Characteristik zweier neuen Eidechsen aus Persien ". Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St-Pétersbourg 6: 477–480. (Teratoscincus keyserlingii, new species, p. 480). (in German and Latin).