- Source: Ptenopus garrulus
Ptenopus garrulus, also known commonly as the common barking gecko and the whistling gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa. There are two recognized subspecies.
Description
The dorsal coloration of P. garrulus varies from reddish brown to grayish yellow to match the local substrate. Ventrally, it is white. The toes are strongly fringed. It has 110–190 rows of scales around the body at midbody. The subspecies P.g. garrulus has more than 160 rows, but the subspecies P. g. maculatus has fewer than 160 rows. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 4.5–6 cm (1.8–2.4 in), which is relatively small for the genus.
Geographic range
P. garrulus is found in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of P. garrulus are desert, shrubland, and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).
Behavior
P. garrulus is terrestrial and fossorial. Males vocalize from the entrances of their burrows at dusk and on moonlit nights.
Diet
P. garrulus preys upon ants, beetles, and termites.
Reproduction
P. garrulus is oviparous.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.
Ptenopus garrulus garrulus (A. Smith, 1849)
Ptenopus garrulus maculatus Gray, 1866
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Ptenopus.
Gallery
References
Further reading
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. (Ptenopus garrulus, new combination, p. 15 + Plate II, figures 2, 2a–2d).
Gray JE (1866). "Descriptions of Two New Genera of Lizards from Damaraland". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1865: 640–642 + Plate XXXVIII. (Ptenopus maculatus, new species, p. 640 + Plate XXXVIII, figure 1).
Smith A (1849). Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; Consisting Chiefly of Figures and Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836; Fitted out by "The Cape of Good Hope Association for Exploring Central Africa:" Together with a Summary of African Zoology, and an Inquiry into the Geographical Ranges of Species in that Quarter of the Globe. Reptilia. [Volume III]. London: Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury. (Smith, Elder and Co., printers). 78 Plates + unnumbered pages of text + Appendix pp. 1–28. (Stenodactylus garrulus, new species, Appendix p. 6). (in English and Latin).
