Sphaerodactylus argus
Gosse, 1850
SFEER-oh-DAK-til-us — AR-gus
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Native to Cuba, Jamaica, and The Bahamas. It was introduced via cargo during the 1940s and is established on Key West and Stock Island, Monroe County, Florida (Savage, 1954, Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 57: 326–334; Duellman and Schwartz, 1958, Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. Biological Sciences. 3: 181–324; Wilson and Porras, 1983, University of Kansas Special Publication : 1–89; Lawson et al., 1991, Herpetological Review 22: 11–12; Krysko and Sheehy, 2005, Caribbean Journal of Science 41: 169–172; Alfonso and Krysko, 2019, Sphaerodactylus argus argus. Pages 345–346 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida). The English name West Caribbean Ocellated Geckolet is used by Hedges et al. (2019, Caribbean Herpetology (67): 1–53).
(Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.07.03.10.47.39)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.14 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Florida
Taxonomic Etymology:
A spotted gecko Named for a many-eyed mythological figure.
Sphaerodactylus — From Greek sphaira (σφαῖρα), “sphere,” and daktylos (δάκτυλος), “finger.” The name means “spherical finger,” referring to the rounded toe tips of these small geckos.
argus — Refers to Argus Panoptes, the many-eyed giant from Greek mythology. The name alludes to the ocelli (eye-like spots) on the lizard’s body and tail.
First instance(s) of published English names:
West Caribbean Ocellated Geckolet (Sphaerodactylus argus: Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist
and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and
reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
|
1850
|
Gosse, Philip H. Description of a new genus and six new species of saurian reptiles. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 2(6):344-348
|
|
1954
|
Savage, Jay M. Notulae herpetologicae- 1-7. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 57(3):326-334
|
|
1958
|
Duellman, William E. and Albert Schwartz. Amphibians and reptiles of southern Florida. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. Biological Sciences. 3(5):181–324
|
|
1973
|
Schwartz, Albert Sphaerodactylus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (142):1-2
|
|
1983
|
Wilson, Larry D. and Louis Porras. The ecological impact of man on the South Florida herpetofauna. University of Kansas Special Publication (9):1-89
|
|
1991
|
Lawson, Robin, Philip G. Frank, and David L. Martin. A new gecko to the United States herpetofauna, with notes on geckoes of the Florida Keys. Herpetological Review 22(1):11-12
|
|
2019
|
Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist
and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and
reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53
|