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Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis facts for kids

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Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis
Scientific classification
Genus:
Sphaerodactylus
Species:
grandisquamis
Subspecies
  • S. g. ateles - Thomas & Schwartz, 1966
  • S. g. grandisquamis - Stejneger, 1904
  • S. g. guarionex - Thomas & Schwartz, 1966
  • S. g. mimetes - Thomas & Schwartz, 1966
  • S. g. phoberus (see text) - Thomas & Schwartz, 1966
  • S. g. spanius - Thomas & Schwartz, 1966
  • S. g. stibarus - Thomas & Schwartz 1966

The big-scaled dwarf gecko (Sphaerodactylus grandisquamis) is a tiny lizard. You might also hear it called the big-scaled least gecko or the cotton ginner. This special gecko is part of the Sphaerodactylidae family of lizards.

About the Big-Scaled Dwarf Gecko

This gecko is a type of lizard that lives only in one place: Puerto Rico. When an animal or plant lives only in one specific area, we say it is "endemic" to that place.

For a long time, scientists thought the big-scaled dwarf gecko was just a type of another gecko, called Sphaerodactylus macrolepis. But scientists are always learning new things! They looked very closely at its DNA and its body features. They found that this gecko was unique enough to be its very own species.

Sometimes, scientists change how they classify animals. For example, one of the former groups of this gecko, called Sphaerodactylus g. phoberus, is now considered the same as S. g. grandisquamis. This shows how science keeps growing and changing as we discover more about the world around us.

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