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Nephrurus wheeleri LOVERIDGE, 1932

IUCN Red List - Nephrurus wheeleri - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaCarphodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Southern banded knob-tailed gecko 
SynonymNephrurus laevis — LUCAS & LE SOUEF 1909 (partim)
Nephrurus wheeleri LOVERIDGE 1932
Nephrurus wheeleri wheeleri — STORR 1963
Nephrurus wheeleri wheeleri — RÖSLER 2000: 97
Nephrurus wheeleri — COGGER 2000: 257
Nephrurus wheeleri — OLIVER & BAUER 2011
Nephrurus wheeleri — COGGER 2014: 269
Nephrurus wheeleri — CHAPPLE et al. 2019: 105 
DistributionAustralia (Western Australia: Murchison River district)

Type locality: Yandil, 30 mi NE of Wiluna, W. A. (26°22'S, 119°49'E)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MCZ 32950, A.G. Paterson, September 1931; Paratypes: WAM R4459 (formerly MCZ R32955), BMNH, RMNH ? 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Differs from all other Nephrurus by a combination of enlarged tubercles scattered over body, tubercles surrounded by enlarged scales, tail short, broad and flattened with deep ridges, narrowing to terminate in a small knob, four dark bands on the nape, dorsum and tail and background colour dull reddish brown. Further differs from N. cinctus by smaller body size, fewer and less prominent tubercles, especially evident on the gular region, and dark maculations on the snout and above mouth. 
CommentHabitat. Prefers stony soils around granite outcrops and breakaway country. Usually found active at night in rocky areas with rubble on the ground. During the day, can be found sheltering under tin or beneath pieces of iron on the soil. 
EtymologyNamed after the leader of the Harvard Australian expedition that found this species, Dr. William M. Wheeler. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Chapple, David G.; Reid Tingley, Nicola J. Mitchell, Stewart L. Macdonald, J. Scott Keogh, Glenn M. Shea, Philip Bowles, Neil A. Cox, John C. Z. Woinarski 2019. The Action Plan for Australian Lizards and Snakes 2017. CSIRO, 663 pp. DOI: 10.1071/9781486309474 - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Ellis, Ryan J.; Paul Doughty and Aaron M. Bauer 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: 051–094 - get paper here
  • Kealley, Luke; Paul Doughty, Danielle Edwards and Ian G. Brennan 2020. Taxonomic assessment of two pygopodoid gecko subspecies from Western Australia. Israel J Ecol Evol 66 (3-4): 126-141 - get paper here
  • Love, B. 2014. Die unsichtbare Arche. Reptilia (Münster) 19 (107): 14-15
  • Loveridge, A. 1932. New lizards of the genera Nephrurus and Amphibolurus from Western Australia. Proc. New England zool. Club 13:31-34.
  • MCGILL, BRENDAN 2015. Captive husbandry and breeding of the banded knob-tailed gecko (Nephrurus wheeleri cinctus) at Perth Zoo. Herpetological Bulletin (134) - get paper here
  • Oliver, P.M. & Bauer, A.M. 2011. Systematics. and evolution of the Australian knob-tail geckos (Nephrurus, Carphodactylidae, Gekkota): Pleisomorphic grades and biome shifts through the Miocene. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59 (3): 664-674 - get paper here
  • Storr, G. M. 1963. The gekkonid genus Nephrurus in Western Australia, including a new species and three new subspecies. J. Royal Soc. Western Australia, 46:85-90. - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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