Tiny scaled gecko

Tiny scaled gecko
Conservation status
Vulnerable Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Gekkota
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Lygodactylus
Species:	L. bivittis
Binomial name
Lygodactylus bivittis (W. Peters, 1883)
File:Lygodactylus bivittis distribution.png
Synonyms
Scalabotes bivittis W. Peters, 1883 Scalabotes hildebrandti W. Peters, 1883 Microscalabotes cowanii Boulenger, 1883 Lygodactylus bivittis — Boulenger, 1885 Lygodactylus hildebrandti — Boulenger, 1885 Microscalabotes bivittis — Kluge, 1993 Lygodactylus bivittis — Röll et al., 2010

The tiny scaled gecko (Lygodactylus bivittis) is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.

Taxonomy

L. bivittis was formerly placed in a monotypic genus Microscalabotes. However, molecular data suggested that Microscalabotes is nested within Lygodactylus, and the genus was synonymized.

Habitat and behavior

L. bivittis occurs in low and mid-elevation humid forests at elevations of 300–1,000 m (980–3,280 ft) above sea level. It is diurnal and lives in trees. It does not occur in heavily degraded areas and is threatened by the loss and degradation of humid forests in eastern Madagascar.

Reproduction

L. bivittis is oviparous.

Further reading

• Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. . (Microscalabotes bivittis).
• Peters W (1883). "Neue Geckonen, darunter drei Arten von Scalabotes, aus der Sammlung des in Madasascar verstorbenen Reisenden J. M. Hildebrandt ". Sitzungs-Berichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin 1883: 27–29. (Scalabotes bivittis, new species, p. 28; S. hildebrandti, new species, p. 28). (in German).
• Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Microscalabotes bivittis, p. 132). (in German).