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Cape Cross thick-toed gecko

{{Short description|Species of gecko}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Cape Cross thick-toed gecko

| image =

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = Bauer AM, Becker F (2020). "Pachydactylus kochii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T196910A110201704.en. Accessed on 28 September 2024.

| genus = Pachydactylus

| species = kochii

| authority = (V. FitzSimons, 1959)

| synonyms = *Pachydactylus kochii
{{small|V. FitzSimons, 1959}}

  • Colopus kochi
    {{small|— Bauer & Lamb, 2005}}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

The Cape Cross thick-toed gecko (Pachydactylus kochii), also known commonly as Koch's gecko and Koch's thick-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, kochii, is in honor of Austrian-born South African entomologist Charles Koch.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Colopus kochii, p. 144).

Geographic range

P. kochii is found in Namibia and in South Africa (southern Namaqualand).[http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pachydactylus&species=kochii "Pachydactylus kochii "] The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of P. kochii are desert and savanna, at altitudes of {{cvt|10|–|800|m|ft}}.

Description

Adults of P. kochii have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of {{convert|4|–|5|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The body is slender. Dorsally, the ground color is grayish with a lavender tinge, and there are five reddish-brown crossbands. Ventrally it is white.Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-042-5}}. (Pachydactylus kochii, p. 254 + Plate 80).

Behavior

P. kochii is terrestrial. It shelters in burrows dug by other animals.

Reproduction

P. kochii is oviparous.

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • Bauer AM, Lamb T (2005). "Phylogenetic relationships of southern African geckos in the Pachydactylus group (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". African Journal of Herpetology 54 (2): 105–129. (Colopus kochii, new combination, p. 105).
  • FitzSimons V (1959). "Some new reptiles from southern Africa and southern Angola". Annals of the Transvaal Museum 23: 405–409. (Pachydactylus kochii, new species, p. 405).
  • Rösler H (1995). Geckos der Welt – Alle Gattungen [= Geckos of the World – All Genera ]. Leipzig: Urania. 256 pp. (Pachydactylus kochii, p. 136). (in German).

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2984349}}

kochii

Category:Reptiles described in 1959

{{gekkonidae-stub}}