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Sphaerodactylus argus GOSSE, 1850

IUCN Red List - Sphaerodactylus argus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaSphaerodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
SubspeciesSphaerodactylus argus andresensis DUNN & SAXE 1950
Sphaerodactylus argus argus GOSSE 1850 
Common NamesE: West Caribbean Ocellated Geckolet, Ocellated Gecko
S: Geco Ocelado 
SynonymSphaerodactylus Argus GOSSE 1850: 347
Sphaerodactylus argus — BOULENGER 1885: 223
Sphaerodactylus argus — BARBOUR 1910: 292
Sphaerodactylus argus henriquesi GRANT 1940: 154
Sphaerodactylus argus henriquesi GRANT 1940: 71
Sphaerodactylus argus — HARRIS & KLUGE 1984: 45
Sphaerodactylus argus argus — BURT & MYERS 1942
Sphaerodactylus argus argus — SCHWARTZ & GARRIDO 1985
Sphaerodactylus argus argus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 87
Sphaerodactylus argus — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 466
Sphaerodactylus argus — KLUGE 1993
Sphaerodactylus argus — LINER 1994
Sphaerodactylus argus — KÖHLER 2000: 51
Sphaerodactylus argus — MCNISH 2011
Sphaerodactylus argus — SUNYER & MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA 2023

Sphaerodactylus argus andresensis DUNN & SAXE 1950
Sphaerodactylus argus andresensis DUNN & SAXE 1950: 148
Sphaerodactylus argus andresensis — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 168
Sphaerodactylus argus andresensis — DE LISLE et al. 2013 
DistributionUSA (introduced to Florida), Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas (introduced to Biminis and Nassau), Isla Grande de Maiz, Mexico (introduced to Yucatan), Nicaragua (introduced; Corn Island), Panama, Colombia (Old Providence Island, San Andres Island)

andresensis: San Andres; Type locality: San Andros.

Type locality: Jamaica.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: BMNH 47.12.24.56, BMNH47.12.24.59.
Holotype: ANSP 25912 [andresensis]
Holotype: MCZ 44971 [henriquesi] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1719 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentFor illustrations see Barbour, 1921; Thomas, 1975. Not listed for Costa Rica by KÖHLER (2000), nor Sasa et al. 2025.

Distribution: Known as introduced near the border of Costa Rica in Bocas del Tora, Panamá, but not yet collected in Costa Rica (Savage 2002, Harris & Kluge 1984). 
EtymologyNamed after the mythological Greek giant Argus who had many eyes (some accounts say 100). The reptiles named after him are adorned with ocelli (eyelike spots).

S. a. andresensis was named after its type locality, San Andres island. 
References
  • ALIBARDI, LORENZO. 2022. Tail regeneration in the gecko Sphaerodactylus argus shows that the formation of an axial elastic skeleton is functional for the new tail. Acta Zoologica Online Version of Record before inclusion in an issue. - get paper here
  • Barbour, T. 1910. Notes on the herpetology of Jamaica. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 52: 273—301 - get paper here
  • Barbour, T. 1921. Sphaerodactylus. Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. (Harvard) 47: 215-282. - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Borroto-Páez, Rafael; Roberto Alonso Bosch, Boris A. Fabres, and Osmany Alvarez García 2015. Introduced Amphibians and Reptiles in the Cuban Archipelago. Herp. Cons. Biol. 10 (3) - get paper here
  • BORROTO-PÁEZ, RAFAEL; ROBERTO ALONSO BOSCH, BORIS A. FABRES, AND OSMANY ALVAREZ GARCÍA 2015. INTRODUCED AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN THE CUBAN ARCHIPELAGO. Herp. Cons. Biol. 10 (3):985–1012. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. Geckonidae, Eublepharidae, Uroplatidae, Pygopodidae, Agamidae. London: 450 pp. - get paper here
  • Burt, Charles E. & Myers, George S. 1942. Neotropical lizards in the collection of the Natural History Museum of Stanford University. Stanford University Press, 52 pp.
  • Carvajal-Cogollo, J.E.; L.E. Rojas-Murcia. & G. Cárdenas-Arévalo 2020. Reptiles del Caribe colombiano/ Reptiles of the Colombian Caribbean. Tunja: Editorial UPTC, 268 pp. - get paper here
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Dunn, E. R., and L. H. Saxe. 1950. Results of the Catherwood-Chaplin West Indies Expedition, 1948. Part. 5. Amphibians and reptiles of San Andrés and Providencia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 102:141-165 - get paper here
  • Gibbons, Whit; Judy Greene, and Tony Mills 2009. LIZARDS AND CROCODILIANS OF THE SOUTHEAST. University of Georgia Press, 240 pp.
  • Gómez-Sánchez, D. A. 2021. Discovery of the West Caribbean Ocellated Geckolet, Sphaerodactylus argus (Squamata: Sphaerodactyli-dae) on Old Providence Island in the Colombian Caribbean. Caribbean Herpetology 75, 1-3 - get paper here
  • González-Sánchez, V. H., J. D. Johnson, E. García-Padilla, V. Mata-Silva, D. L. DeSantis and L. D. Wilson. 2017. The Herpetofauna of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4 (2): 264–380 - get paper here
  • Gosse, P. 1850. Description of a new genus and six new species of saurian reptiles. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 6: 344-348. - get paper here
  • Grant C. 1940. Notes on the reptiles and amphibians of Jamaica, with diagnoses of new species and subspecies. In: Jamaica Today. Hazell, Watson, and Viney, London and Aylesbury, p.151-157.
  • Grant, C. 1940. The herpetology of Jamaica Il. The reptiles. Bull. Inst. Jamaica., Sci. Ser. 1: 61-148.
  • Harris D M; Kluge A G 1984. The Sphaerodactylus (Sauria: Gekkonidae) of Middle America. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan (No. 706): 1-59 - get paper here
  • Klarsfeld, Jonathan D. 1997. Observations of a wild population of Oceelated Geckos, Sphaerodactylus argus. Vivarium 8 (3): 32-34
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Lee, J. C. 2000. A field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the Maya world. Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
  • Lee, J.C. 1996. The amphibians and reptiles of the Yucatán Peninsula. Comstock, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 500 pp.
  • McNish, T. 2011. La fauna del archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina, Colombia, Sudamérica. Colomba Andina de Impresos, ISBN 978-958-99518-1-1
  • Meshaka Jr., Walter E. 2011. A RUNAWAY TRAIN IN THE MAKING: THE EXOTIC AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES, TURTLES, AND CROCODILIANS OF FLORIDA. Herp. Cons. Biol. 6 (Monograph 1): 1-101 - get paper here
  • Rodríguez-Cabrera, Tomás M.; Alejandro M. Rodríguez González, and Javier Torres 2018. Herpetofauna of Cayo Carenas, Cienfuegos Bay, south-central Cuba. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 25 (1): 13–19 - get paper here
  • Rodríguez Schettino, Lourdes, Carlos A. Mancina & Vilma Rivalta González 2013. REPTILES OF CUBA: CHECKLIST AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS. Smithsonian Herp. Inf. Serv. (144): 1-96 - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.
  • Schwartz, A. and O. H. Garrido 1985. The Cuban lizards of the genus Sphaerodactylus (Sauria, Gekkonidae). Milwaukee Public Mus. Contrib. Biol. Geol. 62: 1-67. - get paper here
  • Smith, H. M. 1963. Sphaerodactylus argus continentalis Werner, 1896 (Reptilia: Lacertilia): request for a ruling on interpretation. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 20 (5): 367-369 - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier 2014. An updated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1 (2): 186–202. - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier & José́ Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca 2023. An updated country checklist to the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. REVISTA NICARAGÜENSE DE BIODIVERSIDAD (100): 1-25 - get paper here
  • Thomas, R. 1975. The argus group of West Indian Sphaerodactylus (Sauria: Gekkonidae). Herpetologica 31: 177-195. - get paper here
  • Torres, Javier, Ruben Marrero and Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera. 2016. Geographic Distribution: Sphaerodactylus argus (Jamaican Stippled Sphaero). Herpetological Review 47 (1): 82 - get paper here
  • Valdivieso, D. & J.R. Tamsitt 1963. A Check List and Key to the Amphibian and Reptiles of Providencia and San Andres. Carib. J. Sci. 3 (2/3): 77-79 - get paper here
  • Wilson, B.S. & Vogel, P. 2000. A survey of the herpetofauna of the Hellshire Hills, Jamaica, including the rediscovery of the Blue-tailed Galliwasp (Celestus duquesneyi Grant). Carib. J. Sci. 36: 244-249
 
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