Darwin's wall gecko

Darwin's wall gecko (Tarentola darwini) is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is endemic to Cape Verde, where it occurs on the islands of São Nicolau, Sal, Santiago, and Fogo.

Taxonomy and etymology

T. darwini was described and named by German herpetologist in 1984. The specific name darwini refers to English naturalist Charles Darwin, who visited the island of Santiago in 1832.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. darwini is arid, rocky areas at low altitudes.

Description

Adults of T. darwini usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about . The maximum recorded SVL is .

Reproduction

T. darwini is oviparous.

References

Further reading

• (1984). "Die Radiation der Gattung Tarentola in Makaronesien ". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 71: 91–111. (Tarentola darwini, new species, p. 96).
• (1995). Geckos der Welt: Alle Gattungen. Leipzig: Urania Verlag. 256 pp. . (Tarentola darwini, p. 157). (in German).
• , , , , (2012). "An integrative taxonomic revision of the Tarentola geckos (Squamata, Phyllodactylidae) of the Cape Verde Islands". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 164 (2): 328–360. (Tarentola darwini, p. 346).