The Natal pygmy gecko (Coleodactylus natalensis) is a species of South American lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae.

Natal pygmy gecko
Coleodactylus natalensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Coleodactylus
Species:
C. natalensis
Binomial name
Coleodactylus natalensis
Freire, 1999[2]

Etymology

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The specific epithet, natalensis, refers to Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, the location of its first discovery.

Geographic range

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C. natalensis is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.[3]

Description

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With a total length (including tail) of 35 mm (1.4 in), C. natalensis is one of the smallest known lizards.[4]

Reproduction

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C. natalensis is oviparous.[4] Females probably have a clutch size just one egg. Size at hatching is 11 mm (0.4 in) in snout–vent length; the tail adds to this only one millimeter.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Nogueira, C. (2021). "Coleodactylus natalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T174111A159253312. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Freire EMX (1999). "Espécie nova de Coleodactylus PARKER, 1926 das Dunas de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil, com notas sobre suas relaçoãs dicromatismo sexual no género (Squamata, Gekkonidae) ". Bol. Mus. Nac. nov. Ser. Rio de Janeiro 399: 1-14. (Coleodactylus natalensis, new species). (in Portuguese).
  3. ^ a b Carolina M. C. A. Lisboa; Pablo Augusto Gurgel De Sousa; Leonardo B. Ribeiro & Eliza M. X. Freire (2008). "Coleodactylus natalensis (ncn). Clutch size; hatchling size" (PDF). Herpetological Review. 39 (2): 221.
  4. ^ a b Species Coleodactylus natalensis at The Reptile Database

Further reading

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  • Geurgas, Silvia Rodrigues; Rodrigues, Miguel Trefaut; Moritz, Craig (2008). "The genus Coleodactylus (Sphaerodactylinae, Gekkota) revisited: A molecular phylogenetic perspective". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 92–101.
  • Lima Santos, Roberto (2004). "Life in the leaf litter: the Natal pigmy gecko Coleodactylus natalensis ". Reptilia 37: 52-56.
  • Lima Santos, Roberto (2004). "Viviendo entre la hojarasca. El geco pigmeo de Natal Coleodactylus natalensis". Reptilia 50: 56-60.
  • Lisboa, Carolina M. C. A.; Freire, Eliza M. X. (2012). "Population Density, Habitat Selection and Conservation of Coleodactylus natalensis (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) in an Urban Fragment of Atlantic Forest in Northeastern Brazil". South American Journal of Herpetology 7 (2): 181-190.
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