Chondrodactylus bibronii
Bibron’s Gecko
Alternative names:
Bibronse diktoongeitjie (Afrikaans)
Species: Chondrodactylus bibronii (Smith, 1846)
Distribution: Botswana; Namibia; South Africa
Distribution continued: Ambrose (2006) noted that C. bibroni may occur within the borders of SW Lesotho, yet their presence remains unconfirmed.
Type Locality: “Southern Africa”
Type Locality Notes: Smith spent the majority of his time in South Africa (1821–1837) within the Cape Colony (present day Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape). Heinz et al. (2021) restricted the type Locality to South Africa or Namibia south of –26.4°S and west of 26.4°E.
Habitat: Rupicolous
Natural History: Locally abundant. Can be found in large aggregations. Predominately nocturnal, however, can be observed basking during the day on near the entrance of crevices.
Biology: Oviparous. Females have been recorded to lay a clutch of two eggs in December and January. Some females lay more than one clutch (Flemming & Bates 1995).
Conservation Status: According to the IUCN Red List, this species is classified as "Least Concern," indicating that it is not currently considered to be at high risk of extinction.
Additional information
ReptileDatabase - (See here)
IUCN Red List (See here)
iNaturalist (See here)
LITERATURE
Ambrose D. 2006. Lesotho Annotated Bibliography Section 166: Reptiles Including Annotated Checklist. Mamhlongo Productions, Roma. pp 21.
Bauer, A. M., & Lamb, T. (2005). Phylogenetic relationships of southern African geckos in the Pachydactylus group (Squamata: Gekkonidae). African Journal of Herpetology, 54(2), 105-129.
Birn-Jeffery, A. V., & Higham, T. E. (2014). Geckos significantly alter foot orientation to facilitate adhesion during downhill locomotion. Biology letters, 10(10), 20140456.
Flemming, A.F. & Bates, M.E. (1995). Male and female reproductive cycles of Bibron's gecko Pachydactylus bibronii (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in the Free State province of South Africa. African Zoology 109, 409-422.
Glynne, E., Daza, J. D., & Bauer, A. M. (2020). Surface sculpturing in the skull of gecko lizards (Squamata: Gekkota). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 131(4), 801-813.
Heinz, M. D., Brennan, I. G., Jackman, T. R., & Bauer, A. M. (2021). Phylogeny of the genus Chondrodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with the establishment of a stable taxonomy. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 163(5), 151-210.
Jacobsen, N. (1978). Colloquial names for southern African reptiles and amphibians. The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa, 18(1), 7-13.
Lamb, T., & Bauer, A. M. (2002). Phylogenetic relationships of the large-bodied members of the African lizard genus Pachydactylus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae). Copeia, 2002(3), 586-596.
Meyer, A., & Mouton, P. L. F. N. (2007). Aggregation in Bibron's gecko, Chondrodactylus bibronii. African Journal of Herpetology, 56(2), 137-147.
Russell, A. P., & Oetelaar, G. S. (2016). Limb and digit orientation during vertical clinging in Bibron's gecko, Chondrodactylus bibronii (A. Smith, 1846) and its bearing on the adhesive capabilities of geckos. Acta Zoologica, 97(3), 345-360.
Tolley, K. A., Telford, N. S., Makhubo, B. G., Power, R. J., & Alexander, G. J. (2023). Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 99(1), 101-116.
Webster, N. B., Johnson, M. K., & Russell, A. P. (2009). Ontogenetic scaling of scansorial surface area and setal dimensions of Chondrodactylus bibronii (Gekkota: Gekkonidae): Testing predictions derived from cross‐species comparisons of gekkotans. Acta Zoologica, 90(1), 18-29.