Rhoptropella

Rhoptropella
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Gekkota
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Rhoptropella Hewitt, 1937
Species:	R. ocellata
Binomial name
Rhoptropella ocellata (Boulenger, 1885)
Approximate distribution   Range (Southern Africa)
Synonyms[3]
Rhoptropus ocellatus Boulenger, 1885 Phelsuma ocellata — Schmidt, 1933 Rhoptropella ocellata — Hewitt, 1937

Rhoptropella is a monotypic genus of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The genus is indigenous to southern Africa.

Species

The sole species in the genus Rhoptropella is Rhoptropella ocellata,^[3] although its generic allocation is debated.^[1]

Common names

R. ocellata is known commonly as the Namaqua day gecko, the ocellated day gecko, and the spotted day gecko.^[1]

Geographic range

R. ocellata is found in southwestern Namibia and South Africa (Little Namaqualand).^[1][3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of R. ocellata are desert and shrubland.^[1]

Description

Adults of R. ocellata have a snout-to-vent length of 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in).^[4]

Reproduction

R. ocellata is oviparous.^[3] Adult females lay clutches of 1–2 hard-shelled eggs. Each egg measures 8.5 by 6.5 mm (0.33 by 0.26 in).^[4]

References

1. Bates MF, Branch WR (2018). "Phelsuma ocellata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T16939A115652199. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. Rhoptropella ocellata at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 November 2018.
4. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Phelsuma ocellata, pp. 264–265 + Plate 90).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1885). "Descriptions of three new Species of Geckos". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fifth Series 16: 473–475. (Rhoptropus ocellatus, new species, p. 475).
• Hewitt J (1937). "Descriptions of South African lizards". Annals of the Natal Museum 8 (2): 199–209. (Rhoptropella, new genus; R. ocellata, new combination).
• Rocha S, Rösler H, Gehring P-S, Glaw F, Posada D, Harris DJ, Vences M (2010). "Phylogenetic systematics of day geckos, genus Phelsuma, based on molecular and morphological data (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". Zootaxa 2429: 1–28. (Rhoptropella ocellata).
• Schmidt KP (1933). "The Reptiles of the Pulitzer Angola Expedition". Annals of the Carnegie Museum 22 (1): 1–15. (Phelsuma ocellata, new combination).