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Sphaerodactylus micropithecus SCHWARTZ, 1977

IUCN Red List - Sphaerodactylus micropithecus - Endangered, EN
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Higher TaxaSphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Monito Geckolet, Monito Gecko, Isla Monito Least Gecko 
SynonymSphaerodactylus micropithecus SCHWARTZ 1977: 986
Sphaerodactylus micropithecus — DODD & ORTIZ 1984
Sphaerodactylus micropithecus — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 509
Sphaerodactylus micropithecus — KLUGE 1993
Sphaerodactylus micropithecus — RÖSLER 2000: 113 
DistributionPuerto Rico

Type locality: Isla Monito.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: UF/FSM 21570. 
DiagnosisDESCRIPTION: Size moderate (SVL in males to 32 mm, in females to 32 mm); dorsals keeled, acute, imbricate, axilla to groin 33-36; no middorsal area of granules or granular scales; ventrals smooth, cycloid, imbricate, axilla to groin 32-33; dorsal caudal scales keeled, erected, imbricate, acute, ventral caudal scales cycloid but pointed, imbricate, enlarged midventrally; snout rather blunt; snout scales smooth, flat, not rounded, tuberculate, or keeled; 1 postnasal; 1 internasal; upper labials to mideye 3; gular scales keeled (smooth in juveniles?); chest scales smooth; midbody scales 51-56; escutcheon short, relatively compact, not extending onto thighs, 6-7 x 14. Not sexually dichromatic; dorsum light to dark gray, with irregular, randomly placed groups of dark scales; no black or dark scapular patch with included ocelli, but rather 2 brown blotches, concolor with dark dorsal blotching, each with an included white ocellus, at times absent; head vaguely trilineate brown; a moderately dark sacral U or J; upper sides of limbs vaguely mottled brown on tan ground; throat stippled brown but no definite markings; venter pale tan; tail tan to light brown, yellowish when regenerated (from Schwartz & Henderson 1991: 509). 
CommentFor illustrations see Schwartz, 1977; Dodd and Ortiz R., 1983; Dodd and Ortiz R., 1984.

Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). 
References
  • Dodd, C. K., Jr 1985. Sphaerodactylus micropithecus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (363. - get paper here
  • Dodd, C.K. and Ortiz R., P.R. 1983. An endemic gecko in the Caribbean. Oryx 17 (3): 119-121. - get paper here
  • Dodd, C.K. and Ortiz R., P.R. 1984. Variation of dorsal pattem and scale counts in the Monito gecko, Sphaerodactylus micropithecus. Copeia 1984 (3): 768-70. - get paper here
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • Rösler, H. 2000. Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha). Gekkota 2: 28-153
  • Schwartz, A. 1977. A new species of Sphaerodactylus (Sauria, Gekkonidae) from Isla Monito, West Indies. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 90:985-992. - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.
  • ZEGARRA-VILA, JAN P.; MIGUEL A. GARCÍA-BERMÚDEZ, CIELO E. FIGUEROLA-HERNÁNDEZ, IVÁN LLERANDI-ROMÁN, NICOLE ANGELI, RICARDO LÓPEZ-ORTIZ, JOSÉ A. CRUZ-BURGOS & OMAR A. MONSEGUR-RIVERA. 2022. The Road to Recovery of the Monito Gecko (Sphaerodactylus micropithecus). Caribbean Naturalist 87: 1–15. - get paper here
 
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