Family Sphaerodactylidae - Ball-Toed Geckos

Scientific Name

Common Name

Distribution

Size

Notes

Chatogekko

C. amazonicus

Brazilian Pygmy Gecko

S Venezuela, S Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Brazil, poss. Bolivia

2½-3"

Description: snout rounded, as long as the orbital diameter, or as the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; the latter small, oval, oblique. Scalation details: rostral moderately large with a faint longitudinal cleft above. Nostril pierced between rostral, first labial and two nasal scales. Four upper, three lower labials, regularly decreasing in size behind, and followed by scales of ordinary size, which margin the angle of the mouth. Mental very large, arrow-shaped, the lateral parts reaching considerably behind the median one; a distinct median cleft; no chin-shields. No spine-like scale above the eye. Snout with rather large, flat, juxtaposed scales, regularly decreasing in size all over the head to occiput where they are minutely granular. Dorsal scales moderately large, subimbricate, keeled; 42-45 in a longitudinal row between the small occipital granules and a line touching the anterior parts of the hind limbs; the posterior scales are larger and more distinctly keeled than the anterior. Gular scales smooth, rather large, hexagonal, juxtaposed; the anterior largest, the posterior much smaller. Ventral scales somewhat larger than the dorsal, smooth, imbricate. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered with scales similar to those on the body; as long as head and body. Coloration: brown above, whitish below; the posterior part of tail brown even below; a dark streak from the snout to the eye, continued behind from the lower margin of the eye to the scapular region; a faint dark line on the occiput from the upper corner of the eye. [SOURCE: Andersson]