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Transvaal rock gecko

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Transvaal rock gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Afroedura
Species:
A. transvaalica
Binomial name
Afroedura transvaalica
(Hewitt, 1925)
Synonyms
  • Oedura transvaalica Hewitt,1925
  • Oedura transvaalensis FitzSimons,1930

The Transvaal rock gecko (Afroedura transvaalica) is a species of gecko endemic to Southern Africa.[1][2]

Common names

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Additional common names for Afroedura transvaalica include Limpopo flat gecko, Transvaal flat gecko, and Zimbabwe flat gecko.[1]

Taxonomy

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It was originally described as a new species and given its binomial name by South African herpetologist John Hewitt in 1925.[1]

Geographic range

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Both the specific name, transvaalica, and the English common name, Transvaal flat gecko, are misnomers, in a sense, as A. transvaalica occurs almost exclusively in Zimbabwe; however, small populations with small distributions occur in northern Limpopo, South Africa and in north-western Mozambique. The largest part of its range, 90% or more, covers Zimbabwe, and it is one of the species that make up Zimbabwe's endemic and near-endemic gecko fauna.[citation needed]

Habitat

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A. transvaalica occurs in mesic savanna across Zimbabwe,[2] neither at high nor low altitude,[citation needed] rather associated with granite and sandstone outcrops,[2] at altitudes of 1,000 to 1,800 metres (3,300 to 5,900 ft).[citation needed]

Behaviour

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Transvaal flat geckos are very social geckos and nocturnal; they hide during the day under flakes of rock.[2]

Diet

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A. transvaalica is insectivorous and will tackle large beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers.[2]

Breeding

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Sexual mature females of A. transvaalica lay a pair of hard-shelled eggs usually in a communal nesting site.[2] The eggs are soft and adhesive when first laid.[citation needed]

Subspecies

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No subspecies is recognized. The race formerly known as Afroedura t. loveridgei has been raised to full species status as Afroedura loveridgei.[2] It occurs only in suitable habitat around Tete in the Zambesi River Valley.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Afroedura transvaalica ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Branch, Bill 2004. 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. (Afroedura transvaalica, p. 236 + Plate 88; A. loveridgei, p. 236).

Further reading

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  • Hewitt J. 1925. On some new species of Reptiles and Amphibians from South Africa. Records of the Albany Museum (Grahamstown, South Africa) 3: 343–370. (Oedura transvaalica, new species, p. 350).