Gonatodes

{{Short description|Genus of dwarf geckos}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Variegated (Brilliant South American) gecko (Gonatodes ceciliae) male.jpg | image_caption = Male brilliant South American gecko (''Gonatodes ceciliae''), Trinidad | taxon = Gonatodes | authority = Fitzinger, 1843<ref>"''Gonatodes'' ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.</ref><ref name =RDB>{{EMBL genus|genus=Gonatodes}} www.reptile-database.org.</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 34, see text }}

'''''Gonatodes''''' is a genus of New World '''dwarf geckos''' of the family Sphaerodactylidae.<ref>Gamble T, Simons AM, Colli GR, Vitt LJ (2008). "Tertiary climate change and the diversification of the Amazonian gecko genus ''Gonatodes'' (Sphaerodactylidae, Squamata)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' '''46''': 269–277.</ref><ref>Gamble T, Bauer AM, Greenbaum E, Jackman TR (2008). "Evidence for Gondwanan vicariance in an ancient clade of gecko lizards". ''Journal of Biogeography'' '''35''': 88–104.</ref>

==Description== The majority of the species in the genus ''Gonatodes'' are diurnally active, scansorial, and sexually dichromatic, with adult body size (snout–vent length) ranging from {{convert|28|to|65|mm|in|abbr=on}} for known species.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} <gallery mode="packed" heights="80"> File:Gonatodes humeralis 281628324.jpg|''Gonatodes humeralis'' File:Gonatodes albogularis01a.jpeg|''Gonatodes albogularis'' File:Gonatodes concinnatus.JPG|''Gonatodes concinnatus'', Colombia File:Ocellated gecko (Gonatodes ocellatus) male LTo.JPG|Male ocellated gecko ''Gonatodes ocellatus'', Little Tobago File:Ocellated gecko (Gonatodes ocellatus) male LTo 2.JPG|Male ocellated gecko ''Gonatodes ocellatus'', Little Tobago File:Ocellated gecko (Gonatodes ocellatus) female.JPG|Female ocellated gecko ''Gonatodes ocellatus'', Little Tobago </gallery>

==Diet== The diets of the various species of ''Gonatodes'' are composed mainly of very small arthropods.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Reproduction== Clutch size is one, with most species producing several clutches per year, and some utilizing communal egg-laying sites.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Habitat== Most species are humid tropical forest dwelling (some in warm lowlands, and others in somewhat cooler montane regions), with relatively fewer species utilizing more open, drier habitats at forest edge, tropical dry seasonal forest and scrub forest. Some species (usually those that use drier natural habitats) are able to utilize even more open human modified environments; in some cases including highly urbanized areas. ''Gonatodes'' usually spend most of their active hours perched anywhere from ground level to about 0.6 metres (2 feet) above ground, sometimes up to 2 or 3 metres (6.6 or 9.8 feet), on vertical or near vertical surfaces of tree trunks, tree stumps, logs and sometimes rocks (as well as on walls and house-posts for those that are able to use human altered environments). They seldom sit exposed to direct strong sunlight (they do not appear to bask), and most seem to prefer shade / filtered light with less exposure to direct sun light.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Geographic range== Species of ''Gonatodes'' are found in Central America including southern Mexico, a few Caribbean Islands (including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and the northern part of South America, including Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, parts of Brazil, Venezuela, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and some of the small islands just off the coast of northern South America.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Introduced species== Human mediated introductions have occurred with ''Gonatodes caudiscutatus'' in the Galapagos Islands and ''G. albogularis'' in Florida. In addition, some species have been transplanted by human activity to various regions within the general range of the genus where the particular species did not previously exist.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Species== The following 34 species are recognized as being valid.<ref name=RDB/> Some subspecies are also listed. *''Gonatodes albogularis'' (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836) – white-throated clawed gecko, white-throated gecko, yellow-headed gecko **''Gonatodes albogularis albogularis'' (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836) **''Gonatodes albogularis bodinii'' Rivero-Blanco, 1968 **''Gonatodes albogularis notatus'' (J.T. Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862) *''Gonatodes alexandermendesi'' Cole & Kok, 2006 *''Gonatodes annularis'' Boulenger, 1887 – annulated gecko *''Gonatodes antillensis'' (Lidth de Jeude, 1887) – Antilles gecko, Venezuelan coastal clawed gecko *''Gonatodes astralis'' Schargel et al., 2010 *''Gonatodes atricucullaris'' Noble, 1921 – Cajamarca gecko *''Gonatodes castanae'' Carvajal-Cogollo, Eguis-Avendaño & Meza-Joya, 2020 – Castaño's Gecko *''Gonatodes caudiscutatus'' (Günther, 1859) – shieldhead gecko *''Gonatodes ceciliae'' Donoso-Barros, 1966 – brilliant clawed gecko, brilliant South American gecko *''Gonatodes chucuri'' Meneses-Pelayo & Ramírez, 2020 – Chucuri gecko *''Gonatodes concinnatus'' (O'Shaughnessy, 1881) – O'Shaughnessy's gecko *''Gonatodes daudini'' Powell & Henderson, 2005 – Grenadines clawed gecko, Union Island clawed gecko, Union Island gecko<ref name=EDR>Beolens, Bo; Watkin, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("Daudin, J.", p. 66; "Haseman", p. 117; "Peters, J.A.", p. 204).</ref> *''Gonatodes eladioi'' Nascimento, Ávila-Pires & Cunha, 1987 – South American gecko *''Gonatodes falconensis'' Shreve, 1947 – Estado Falcón gecko *''Gonatodes hasemani'' Griffin, 1917 – Haseman's gecko<ref name=EDR/> *''Gonatodes humeralis'' (Guichenot, 1855) – South American clawed gecko, Trinidad gecko *''Gonatodes infernalis'' Rivas & Schargel, 2008 *''Gonatodes lichenosus'' Rojas-Runjaic et al., 2010 - Perijá lichen gecko *''Gonatodes ligiae'' Donoso-Barros, 1967 *''Gonatodes machelae'' Rivero-Blanco & Schargel, 2020 *''Gonatodes nascimentoi'' Sturaro & Ávila-Pires, 2011 *''Gonatodes naufragus'' Rivas et al., 2013 – La Blanquilla clawed gecko *''Gonatodes ocellatus'' (Gray, 1831) – eyespot clawed gecko, eyespot gecko, ocellated gecko *''Gonatodes petersi'' Donoso-Barros, 1967 – Peters' gecko<ref name=EDR/> *''Gonatodes purpurogularis'' Esqueda, 2004 *''Gonatodes rayito'' Schargel, Rivas, García-Pérez, Rivero-Blanco, Chippindale & Fujita, 2017 *''Gonatodes riveroi'' Sturaro & Ávila-Pires, 2011 *''Gonatodes rozei'' Rivero-Blanco & Schargel, 2012 - Roze's gecko *''Gonatodes seigliei'' Donoso-Barros, 1966 – Estado Sucre gecko *''Gonatodes superciliaris'' Barrio-Amorós & Brewer-Carías, 2008 - Sarisariñama forest gecko *''Gonatodes taniae'' Roze, 1963 – Estado Aragua gecko, ring-necked clawed gecko *''Gonatodes tapajonicus'' Rodrigues, 1980 – Pará gecko *''Gonatodes timidus'' Kok, 2011<ref>Kok PJR (2011). "A new species of the genus ''Gonatodes'' Fitzinger, 1843 (Reptilia: Sphaerodactylidae) from central Guyana, northern South America". ''Zootaxa'' '''3018''': 1-12. (''Gonatodes timidus'', new species).</ref> *''Gonatodes vittatus'' (Lichtenstein, 1856) – striped clawed gecko, Wiegmann's striped gecko

''Nota bene'': A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Gonatodes''.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== {{Wikispecies|Gonatodes}} *Fitzinger L (1843). ''Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae.'' Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (''Gonatodes'', new genus, pp. 18, 90–91). (in Latin).

Category:Gonatodes Category:Reptiles of Guyana Category:Lizard genera Category:Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger