Lepidophyma gaigeae

Lepidophyma gaigeae
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Xantusiidae
Genus:	Lepidophyma
Species:	L. gaigeae
Binomial name
Lepidophyma gaigeae Mosauer, 1936
Synonyms[2]
Lepidophyma gaigeae Mosauer, 1936 Gaigeia gaigeae — H.M. Smith, 1939 Lepidophyma gaigeae — Savage, 1963 Lepidophyma (Gaigeia) gaigeae — H.M Smith, 1973 Lepidophyma gaigeae — Liner, 2007

Lepidophyma gaigeae, also known commonly as Gaige's tropical night lizard and la lagartija nocturna de Gaige in Mexican Spanish, is a small species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is native to eastern Mexico.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, gaigeae, is in honor of American herpetologist Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige.[3]

Geographic range

L. gaigeae is native to the Sierra Madre Oriental of northern Querétaro state and adjacent northwestern Hidalgo state, between 1,800 and 2,200 m (5,900 and 7,200 ft) elevation.[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of L. gaigeae is rocky areas of forest or shrubland.[1]

Reproduction

L. gaigeae is viviparous.[1][2] Litter size may be as small as one newborn.[1]

References

1. Mendoza-Quijano, F. (2007). "Lepidophyma gaigeae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T64350A12773333. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64350A12773333.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Lepidophyma gaigeae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 October 2020.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lepidophyma gaigeae, p. 96).

Further reading

• Goldberg, Stephen R.; Bursey, Charles R.; Arreola, Jeanette (2014). "Lepidophyma gaigeae (Gaige's Tropical Night Lizard). Endoparasites". Herpetological Review 45 (3): 502.
• Gonzalez A., Arturo (1995). "Distributional Notes for the Night Lizard Lepidophyma gaigeae (Xantusiidae)". Herpetological Review 26 (1): 15–17.
• Mosauer W (1936). "A New Xantusiid Lizard of the Genus Lepidophyma". Herpetologica 1: 3–5, Plate 2. (Lepidophyma gaigeae, new species).
• Smith HM (1939). "Notes on Mexican Reptiles and Amphibians". Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series 24 (4): 15–35. (Gaigeia gaigeae, new combination, p. 24).