Island least gecko

Island least gecko
1921 illustration from St. Kitts
First record from Saba
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Infraorder: Gekkota
Family: Sphaerodactylidae
Genus: Sphaerodactylus
Species:
S. sputator
Binomial name
Sphaerodactylus sputator
(Sparrman, 1784)
Synonyms[2]
  • Lacerta sputator Sparrman 1784
  • Sphaerodactylus pictus Garman, 1887

The island least gecko (Sphaerodactylus sputator) is a species of lizard belonging to the family Sphaerodactylidae, the least geckos or sphaeros. This gecko is endemic to the northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.

Taxonomy

The island least gecko was first formally described in 1784 as Lacerta sputator by the Swedish naturalist Anders Sparrman with its type locality given as Sint Eustatius.[2] In 1830 Johann Georg Wagler proposed the new monospecific genus Sphaerodactylus with L. sputator as its only species, meaning that this species is the type species of Sphaerodactylus by monotypy.[3] This genus was fornerly included in the family Gekkonidae but in 1954 Garth Underwood proposed the family Sphaerodactylidae,[4] This family is classified within the infraorder Gekkota the sole extant taxon within the clade Gekkonomorpha of the order [Squamata]], which includes the lizards and snakes.[5]

Etymology

The island least gecko is the type species of the genus Sphaerodactylus, a combination of the Greek sphaira, meaning "a ball", or sphairion, which means "a little ball", with dactylos, meaning "finger", seemingly an allusion to round tips to the toes.[3] The specific name, sputator, means "spitter" in Latin.[2]

Description

The island least gecko is a relatively large species of Sphaerodactylus with a background colour of light brown marked with white crossbands with brown edges and dark brown blotches or brown longitudinal stripes.[6]

Distribution and habitat

The island least gecko is endemic to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, on Anguilla, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and Sint Eustatius, and their associated satellite islands.[1] It was rediscovered on Saba in 2021, after last being recorded in 1963.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Daltry, J.C.; Dewynter, M. & Powell, R. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Sphaerodactylus sputator". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T75605945A115491165. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T75605945A75607949.en. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Sphaerodactylus sputator at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 8 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b Albert Schwarz (1973). "Sphaerodactylus". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  4. ^ Russell, Anthony & Bauer, A. (2002). "Underwood's classification of the geckos: A 21st century appreciation". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum: Zoology. 68: 113–121. doi:10.1017/S0968047002000134.
  5. ^ Conrad, J. L. (2008). "Phylogeny and Systematics of Squamata (Reptilia) Based on Morphology" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 310: 1–182. doi:10.1206/310.1. hdl:2246/5915. S2CID 85271610.
  6. ^ King, W. (1962). "Systematics of Lesser Antillean lizards of the genus Sphaerodactylus". Bulletin of the Florida State Museum. 7 (1): 1–52.
  7. ^ "First official record of Least Gecko on Saba in 60 years". Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2025.

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. (Sphærodactylus sputator, pp. 219–220).
  • Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999). Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean. Oxford, England: Macmillan Education Ltd. 144 pp. ISBN 0-333-69141-5. (pp. 53, 55–56, 58, 60, 65, 66).
  • Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Sphaerodactylus sputator, p. 162).
  • Sparrman A (1784). "Lacerta sputator und Lacerta bimaculata, zwey neue Eideren aus Amerika ". Königlich-Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Neue Abhandlungen aus der Naturlehre Haushaltungkunst und Mechanik 3 (1): 166-169 + Plate IV. (Lacerta sputator, new species, p. 169 + Plate IV, figures 1–3). (in German and Latin).
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