Post by Ceratodromeus on Feb 25, 2016 3:23:45 GMT 5
Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Thecadactylus
Species: T.rapicauda
Description
This is a small arboreal species of the Thecadactylus genus. They possess a light brown or tan body coloration, with black irregularly shaped patterning running down the animal's back. This helps them blend into the bark of trees, avoiding detection from predators and allowing them to ambush prey. The eye is large and the pupil is elliptical. An adult animal will measure around 99mm(3.8in) in snout-ventral length typically, and weigh around 20g(0.7oz.){1}. They get their common name from their bulbous tail, which acts as a fat reserve when the lizard comes across times of food scarcity. The tail can also automotize(be cast off), in order to distract predators so the lizard can escape.
Geographic distribution and habitat use
The turnip tailed gecko is a relatively widepsread species, ranging form the south of Central America and down into Northern South America. It is a tree dwelling, nocturna species that spends most of its time on the trunks of trees. In urban areas they are commonly seen on the walls of buildings, and are attracted to light sources as those, in turn, attract moths and other insects this species can possibly prey upon.
Dietary habits
These animals will sit high up on a tree trunk or on a wall of a building, and wait for an insect or arthropod to wander by. it is then seized by the head, which is subsequently crushed. Observations on this species have shown that they can overpower proportionately large prey, such as leaf mantis(Choeradodis sp.), or large moths such as the Fig Sphinx Moth (Pachylia ficus) or Hawk moth (Manduca sp.){2}. Other observations on the species in the Amazon region seem to suggest the majority of the species' dietary intake is cockroaches{3}; it is also said that the populations near the amazon eat proportionately larger prey then other populations{1}.
Reproduction
Not much is documented on the reproductory habits of this species, but it is known that females will lay a singular egg, and there is evidence of multiple clutches being laid in a year{1}.
References
{1} Vitt, Laurie J., and Peter A. Zani. "Ecological relationships among sympatric lizards in a transitional forest in the northern Amazon of Brazil." Journal of Tropical Ecology 14.01 (1998): 63-86.
{2} Acosta-Chaves, Víctor J., Natalia Solís-Miranda and César L. Barrio-Amorós. 2015.Thecadactylus rapicauda. Preying on large insects. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2(2): 197–199.
{3} Vitt, Laurie J., and Peter A. Zani. "Ecology of the nocturnal lizard Thecadactylus rapicauda (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in the Amazon region." Herpetologica (1997): 165-179.
