Editing Lygodactylus

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = ''Lygodactylus''
| image = Dwarf Yellow-headed gecko edit.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Lygodactylus luteopicturatus]]''
| taxon = Lygodactylus
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1864<ref>"''Lygodactylus'' ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.</ref><ref name="RDB" />
| diversity_link = #Species
| diversity = 82 spp.
}}

'''''Lygodactylus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Diurnality|diurnal]] [[gecko]]s with 82 [[species]]. They are commonly referred to as '''dwarf geckos'''. They are mainly found in [[Africa]] and [[Madagascar]] although two species are found in [[South America]]. ''Lygodactylus picturatus'', the best known species, is found in [[Kenya]] and commonly known as the white-headed dwarf gecko.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildherps.com/species/L.picturatus.html |title=''Lygodactylus picturatus'' White-headed Dwarf Gecko |publisher=Wildherps.com |access-date=2007-04-05}}</ref>  Recently, illegal importation from [[Tanzania]] of brightly colored (and [[Lygodactylus williamsi|critically-endangered]]), ''[[Lygodactylus williamsi]],'' known as electric blue geckos, has been gaining attention for ''Lygodactylus'' geckos in the reptile trade.

Since all trade in wild-caught ''Lygodactylus williamsi'' is illegal, shipments of these geckos are often intentionally mislabelled as ''Lygodactylus'' spp. or as ''[[Lygodactylus capensis]]''.<ref name=CITES>[https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/17/prop/060216/E-CoP17-Prop-30.pdf CITES Proposal for inclusion]</ref> As some customs officials have difficulty identifying members of this genus,<ref name="CITES"/> a [https://cites.unia.es/cites/file.php/1/files/how_to_identify_lygodactylus.pdf ''Lygodactylus'' spp. identification guide] has been published online by [[CITES]].<ref>[https://cites.unia.es/cites/file.php/1/files/how_to_identify_lygodactylus.pdf TRAFFIC (2011). How to identify ''Lygodactylus williamsi'':  A photographic guide to the turquoise dwarf gecko]. 
In: Wildlife Trade Handbook. TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 11–17.</ref>

==Species==
Species in alphabetical order by [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]]:<ref name="RDB">{{NRDB genus|genus=Lygodactylus }}</ref>
*''[[Lygodactylus angolensis]]'' <small>[[José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage|Bocage]], 1896</small> – Angola dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus angularis]]'' <small>[[Albert Günther|Günther]], 1893</small> – angulated dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus arnoulti]]'' <small>[[species:Georges Pasteur|G. Pasteur]], 1965</small> – Pasteur's dwarf gecko, Arnoult's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus baptistai]]'' <small>[[species:Mariana Pimentel Marques|Marques]], [[species:Luís Miguel Pires Ceríaco|Ceríaco]], [[species:Matthew D. Buehler|Buehler]], [[species:Suzana Bandeira|Bandeira]], [[species:Joyce M. Janota|Janota]] & [[species:Aaron Matthew Bauer|Bauer]], 2020</small><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Marques|first1=Mariana P.|author1-link=species:Mariana Pimentel Marques|last2=Ceríaco|first2=Luis M.P.|author2-link=species:Luís Miguel Pires Ceríaco|last3=Buehler|first3=Matthew D.|author3-link=species:Matthew D. Buehler|last4=Bandeira|first4=Suzana A.|author4-link=species:Suzana Bandeira|last5=Janota|first5=Joyce M.|author5-link=species:Joyce M. Janota|last6=Bauer|first6=Aaron M.|author6-link=species:Aaron Matthew Bauer|date=2020|title=A revision of the Dwarf Geckos, genus ''Lygodactylus'' (Squamata: Gekkonidae), from Angola, with the description of three new species|url=https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4853.3.1|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4853|issue=3|pages=301–352|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4853.3.1|pmid=33056364|s2cid=222841571|issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
*''[[Lygodactylus bernardi]]'' <small>[[Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons|V. FitzSimons]], 1958</small> – Bernard's dwarf gecko, FitzSimon's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus bivittis]]'' <small>([[Wilhelm Peters|W. Peters]], 1883)</small> – tiny scaled gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus blancae]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1995 ‡</small>[[File:Lygodactylus conraui2.jpg|thumb|Cameroon dwarf gecko (''[[Cameroon dwarf gecko|L conraui]]'')]]
*''[[Lygodactylus blanci]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1967 ‡</small> – Blanc's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus bonsi]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1962 </small> – Bons's dwarf day gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus bradfieldi]]'' <small>[[John Hewitt (herpetologist)|Hewitt]], 1932</small> – Bradfield's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus broadleyi]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1995</small> – Broadley's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus capensis]]'' <small>([[Andrew Smith (zoologist)|A. Smith]], 1849)</small> – Cape dwarf gecko, common dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus chobiensis]]'' <small>V. FitzSimons, 1932</small> – Okavango dwarf gecko, Chobe dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus conradti]]'' <small>[[Paul Matschie|Matschie]], 1892</small> – Matschie's dwarf gecko, Conradt's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus conraui]]'' <small>[[Gustav Tornier|Tornier]], 1902</small> – Cameroon dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus decaryi]]'' <small>[[Fernand Angel|Angel]], 1930</small> – Angel's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus depressus]]'' <small>[[Karl Patterson Schmidt|K.P. Schmidt]], 1919</small> – Zaire dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus expectatus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur & [[species:Charles Pierre Blanc|C. Blanc]], 1967</small> – Ambilobe dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus fischeri]]'' <small>[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1890</small> – [[Johann Gustav Fischer|Fischer's]] dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus fritzi]]'' <small>[[Miguel Vences|Vences]], [[species:Malte Multsch|Multzsch]], [[species:Sven Gippner|Gippner]], [[species:Aurélien Miralles|Miralles]], [[species:Angelica Crottini|Crottini]], [[species:Philip Sebastian Gehring|Gehring]], [[species:Andolalao Rakotoarison|Rakotoarison]], [[species:Fanomezana Mihaja Ratsoavina|Ratsoavina]], [[Frank Glaw|Glaw]] & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus grandisonae]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1962</small> – Kenya dwarf gecko, Bunty's dwarf gecko, Grandison's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus graniticolus]]'' <small>[[species:Niels Henning Gunther Jacobsen|Jacobsen]], 1992</small> – granite dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus gravis]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1965</small> – Usambara dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus grotei]]'' <small>[[Richard Sternfeld|Sternfeld]], 1911</small> – Grote's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus guibei]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1965</small> – western dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus gutturalis]]'' <small>(Bocage, 1873)</small> – Uganda dwarf gecko, chevron-throated dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus hapei]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus heeneni]]'' <small>[[Gaston-François de Witte|de Witte]], 1933</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus heterurus]]'' <small>[[Oskar Boettger|Boettger]], 1913</small> – Boettger's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus hodikazo]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus incognitus]]'' <small>Jacobsen, 1992</small> – cryptic dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus inexpectatus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1965</small> – Dar es Salaam dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus insularis]]'' <small>Boettger, 1913</small> – insular dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus intermedius]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1995</small>
*''[[Lygodactylus karamoja]]'' 2023 – <small> Lobón-Rovira et al.</small> Karamoja dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus keniensis]]'' <small>[[Hampton Wildman Parker|Parker]], 1936</small> – Parker's dwarf gecko, Kenya dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus kimhowelli]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1995</small> – Kim Howell's dwarf gecko, Tanzanian dwarf gecko, zebra dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus klemmeri]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1965</small> – Malagasy dwarf gecko, Klemmer's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus klugei]]'' <small>([[Hobart Muir Smith|H.M. Smith]], [[species:Robert L. Martin|R.L. Martin]] & [[species:Tom A. Swain|Swain]], 1977)</small> – Kluge's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus laterimaculatus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1964</small> – side-spotted dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus lawrencei]]'' <small>Hewitt, 1926</small> – Lawrence's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus lobeke]]'' – Lobeke dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus luteopicturatus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1964</small> – dwarf yellow-headed gecko, yellow-headed dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus madagascariensis]]'' <small>(Boettger, 1881)</small> – Madagascar dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus manni]]'' <small>[[Arthur Loveridge|Loveridge]], 1928</small> – Mann's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus methueni]]'' <small>V. FitzSimons, 1937</small> – Methuen's dwarf gecko, Woodbrush dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus miops]]'' <small>Günther, 1891</small> – Günther's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus mirabilis]]'' <small>(G. Pasteur, 1962)</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus mombasicus]]'' <small>Loveridge, 1935</small> – white-headed dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus montanus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1965</small> – Mount Ivohibe gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus montiscaeruli]]'' <small>Jacobsen, 1992</small> – Makgabeng dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus nigropunctatus]]'' <small>Jacobsen, 1992</small> – black-spotted dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus nyaneka]]'' <small>Marques, Ceríaco, Buehler, Bandeira, Janota & Bauer, 2020</small>
*''[[Lygodactylus ocellatus]]'' <small>[[Jean Roux|Roux]], 1907</small> – ocellated dwarf gecko, spotted dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus ornatus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1965</small> – ornate dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus pauliani]]'' <small>G. Pasteur & C. Blanc, 1991</small> – ornate dwarf gecko
[[File:White-headed dwarf gecko.jpg|thumb|''[[Lygodactylus picturatus]]'' in [[Dar es Salaam]], [[Tanzania]]. The tail has been detached due to a self-defense mechanism known as [[autotomy]].]]
*''[[Lygodactylus petteri]]'' <small>Pasteur & C. Blanc, 1967</small> – Petter’s dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus picturatus]]'' <small>(W. Peters, 1871)</small> – white-headed dwarf gecko, painted dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus pictus]]'' <small>(W. Peters, 1883)</small> – robust dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus rarus]]'' <small>G. Pasteur & C. Blanc, 1973</small> – thin dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus regulus]]'' <small>[[species:Daniel M. Portik|Portik]], [[species:Scott L. Travers|Travers]], Bauer & [[William Roy Branch|Branch]], 2013</small> – prince dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus rex]]'' <small>[[Donald George Broadley|Broadley]], 1963</small> – king dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus roavolana]]'' <small>[[species:Marta Puente|Puente]], Glaw, [[species:David R. Vietes|Vieites]] & Vences, 2009</small>
*''[[Lygodactylus roellae]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus salvi]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus scheffleri]]'' <small>Sternfeld, 1912</small> – Scheffler's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus scorteccii]]'' <small>G. Pasteur, 1959</small> – [[species:Giuseppe Scortecci|Scortecci's]] dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus somalicus]]'' <small>Loveridge, 1935</small> – Somali dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus soutpansbergensis]]'' <small>Jacobsen, 1994</small> – Soutpansberg dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus stevensoni]]'' <small>Hewitt, 1926</small> – [[James Stevenson-Hamilton|Stevenson's]] dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus tantsaha]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus tchokwe]]'' <small>Marques, Ceríaco, Buehler, Bandeira, Janota & Bauer, 2020</small>
*''[[Lygodactylus thomensis]]'' <small>(W. Peters, 1881)</small> – Annobon dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus tolampyae]]'' <small>([[Alfred Grandidier|Grandidier]], 1872)</small> – Grandidier's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus tsavoensis]]'' <small>[[species:Patrick Kenyatta Malonza|Malonza]], Bauer, [[species:Carolina Granthon|Granthon]], [[species:Dean A. Williams|D. Williams]] & [[species:David Wojnowski|Wojnowski]], 2019</small> – Tsavo dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus tuberosus]]'' <small>[[Robert Mertens|Mertens]], 1965</small>
*''[[Lygodactylus ulli]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small> 
*''[[Lygodactylus verticillatus]]'' <small>[[François Mocquard|Mocquard]], 1895</small> – Mocquard's dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus viscatus]]'' <small>([[Léon Vaillant|Vaillant]], 1873)</small> – Howell's dwarf gecko, Copal dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus waterbergensis]]'' <small>Jacobsen, 1992</small> – Waterberg dwarf gecko[[File:Zürich Zoo Tanzania blue gecko (15727077154).jpg|thumb|Electric blue dwarf gecko (''[[Lygodactylus williamsi|L. williamsi]]'')]]
*''[[Lygodactylus wetzeli]]'' (<small>H.M. Smith, R.L. Martin & Swain, 1977)</small> – South American dwarf gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus williamsi]]'' <small>Loveridge, 1952</small> – [[Ernest Edward Williams|Williams']] dwarf gecko, turquoise dwarf gecko, electric blue gecko
*''[[Lygodactylus winki]]'' <small>Vences, Multzsch, Gippner, Miralles, Crottini, Gehring, Rakotoarison, Ratsoavina, Glaw & Scherz, 2022</small>
*''[[Lygodactylus wojnowskii]]'' <small>Malonza, Granthon & D. Williams, 2016</small> – Mt. Kenya dwarf gecko

‡ ''L. blancae'' ([[Grammatical gender|feminine]], [[Genitive case|genitive]], [[Grammatical number|singular]]) is named for (Ms) [[species:Françoise Blanc|Françoise Blanc]], a [[French people|French]] [[geneticist]]; but ''L. blanci'' (masculine, genitive, singular) is named for (Mr.) [[species:Charles Pierre Blanc|Charles Pierre Blanc]], a French [[Herpetology|herpetologist]].<ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; [[species:Michael Grayson|Grayson, Michael]] (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Lygodactylus blancae'' and ''L. blanci'', p. 26).</ref>

''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was original described in a genus other than ''Lygodactylus''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies}}
*[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]] (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ'' ...'''.''' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I–XXXII. (Genus ''Lygodactylus'', pp.&nbsp;158–159).
*[[William Roy Branch|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}}. (Genus ''Lygodactylus'', p.&nbsp;245).
*[[John Edward Gray|Gray JE]] (1864). "Notes on some Lizards from South-Eastern Africa, with the Descriptions of several New Species". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' '''1864''': 58–62. (''Lygodactylus'', new genus, p.&nbsp;59).
*[[species:Marcello Mezzasalma|Mezzasalma M]], [[species:Franco Andreone|Andreone F]], [[species:Gennaro Aprea|Aprea G]], [[Frank Glaw|Glaw F]], [[species:Gaetano Odierna|Odierna G]], [[species:Fabio Maria Guarino|Guarino FM]] (2016). "Molecular phylogeny, biogeography and chromosome evolution of Malagasy dwarf geckos of the genus ''Lygodactylus'' (Squamata, Gekkonidae)". ''Zoologica Scripta'' '''46''' (1): 42–54.
*[[species:Marta Puente|Puente M]], Glaw F, [[species:David R. Vieites|Vieites DR]], [[Miguel Vences|Vences M]] (2009). "Review of the systematics, morphology and distribution of Malagasy dwarf geckos, genera ''Lygodactylus'' and ''Microscalabotes'' (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". ''Zootaxa'' '''2103''': 1–76.
*Röll, Beate; Pröhl, Heike; Hoffmann, Klaus-Peter (2010). "Multigene phylogenetic analysis of ''Lygodactylus'' dwarf geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' '''56''' (1): 327–335.


{{Taxonbar|from=Q135244}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lygodactylus| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]
[[Category:Lizard genera]]