Bauerius

Bauerius ansorgii is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is indigenous to the west coast of Southern Africa.

Bauerius
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Bauerius Lobon-Rovira, Conradie, Vaz Pinto, Keates, Edwards, du Plessis, & Branch, 2022
Species:	B. ansorgii
Binomial name
Bauerius ansorgii (Boulenger, 1907)
Synonyms[2]
Phyllodactylus ansorgii — Boulenger, 1907 Afrogecko ansorgii — Bauer et al., 1997

Etymology

The specific name, ansorgii, is in honor of William John Ansorge, a physician who collected natural history specimens in Africa.^[3]

Geographic range

B. ansorgii is endemic to Angola.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of B. ansorgii are savanna and shrubland, at altitudes of 50–500 m (160–1,640 ft).^[1]

Description

B. ansorgii may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 7.5 cm (3.0 in), with a tail 3 cm (1.2 in) long. Dorsally, it is pale grayish brown. Ventrally, it is white with small brown spots. The upper lip is also white.^[4]

Behavior

B. ansorgii is nocturnal. It shelters by day in hollow branches of blackthorn (Senegalia mellifera), the branches having been made hollow by termite activity. It emerges at night to forage.^[1]

Reproduction

B. ansorgii is oviparous.^[2]

References

1. Vaz Pinto, P. (2020). "Afrogecko ansorgii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T169705A110197243. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T169705A110197243.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Species Bauerius ansorgii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Afrogecko ansorgii, p. 10).
4. Boulenger (1907).

Further reading

• Bauer AM, Good DA, Branch WR (1997). "The taxonomy of the Southern African leaf-toed geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with a review of Old World "Phyllodactylus " and the description of five new genera". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 49 (14): 447–497. (Afrogecko ansorgii, new combination, p. 476).
• Boulenger GA (1907). "Descriptions of Three new Lizards and a new Frog, discovered by Dr. W. J. Ansorge in Angola". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Seventh Series 19: 212–214. (Phyllodactylus ansorgii, new species, p. 212).
• Vaz Pinto P, Veríssimo L, Branch WR (2019). "Hiding in the bushes for 110 years: rediscovery of an iconic Angolan gecko (Afrogecko ansorgii Boulenger, 1907, Sauria: Gekkonidae)". Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (2) [Special Section]: 29–41.