Jaragua sphaero facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jaragua sphaero |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Sphaerodactylus
|
| Species: |
ariasae
|
 |
|
| Distribution of Sphaerodactylus ariasae. Inferred range in red. | |
The Sphaerodactylus ariasae, also known as the Jaragua sphaero or Jaragua dwarf gecko, is the smallest type of lizard in the Sphaerodactylidae family. It's truly tiny!
Contents
What Makes It Special?
The Jaragua sphaero is known as the world's smallest reptile. It's even smaller than another tiny gecko, Sphaerodactylus parthenopion, which lives in the British Virgin Islands.
This little gecko measures only about 14 to 18 millimeters (0.55 to 0.71 inches) from its nose to the base of its tail. That means it can easily fit on a US 25-cent coin! It weighs just about 0.13 grams (0.00455 of an ounce). To give you an idea, a blue whale is 1,600 times longer and over a billion times heavier than this gecko!
Where It Lives
The Jaragua sphaero is only found in a very specific place. It lives in Jaragua National Park, which is at the very southern tip of the Barahona Peninsula in the Dominican Republic. It also lives on a nearby island called Beata Island, which is part of Hispaniola.
.jpg)
Its Home (Habitat)
This tiny gecko likes to live in dry forests. It prefers areas where the ground is covered with leaf litter (fallen leaves and twigs) and where there are limestone rocks underneath. This kind of environment provides good hiding spots and food.
Reproduction
The Jaragua sphaero is an oviparous animal. This means that the female gecko lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young.
How It Got Its Name
The Jaragua sphaero was first described in 2001 by two scientists: Stephen Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist from Pennsylvania State University, and Richard Thomas, a biologist from the University of Puerto Rico.
Its scientific name, Sphaerodactylus ariasae, was chosen to honor a herpetologist named Yvonne Arias. She is the leader of a conservation group in the Dominican Republic called Grupo Jaragua. This group played a very important role in protecting Jaragua National Park, which is where this special gecko lives.
See also
- Smallest organisms
- In Spanish: Jaragua sphaero para niños
