Diplodactylus vittatus

[Sdaji]

Thanks, zen. It was taken with a nikon 3100. I don't have that camera any more and they no longer make them. Cool huh? :lol:

I've seen some with the perfect dorsal band, some with the 'classic' zig zag down the back and also a few with blotches. In some cases, the dorsal blotches look the same as the lateral spots. I have some half baked hypotheses about the patterns, but it will take me a few years to test them...

I'm still not sure which pattern I prefer. Some are somewhat boring, by vittatus standards, while others are absolutely exquisite, but I'm yet to see one I don't think is gorgeous. Taxonomically, I think this group is very complex.

This thread does a zillion times more for me than any chondro thread! Thanks everyone.

 

[zulu]

re Diplodactylus

I've found heaps of D. vittatus all over Sydney, and they have generally all looked the same as the ones pictured above (excluding yours Sdaji).

yeh mostly similar around sydney mr bredli ive found them at heathcote and waterfall,they was also found on the cumberland plains and have been found at rookward cemetry.The last one i found was near the ADI site at shanes park sydney west under rubbish.

 

[Livewire]

More pics, if possible. These little guys are great.

 

[jordo]

Sdaji, some of these guys have a nice stripe down their back, what do you reckon its worth? :wink:
Nice geckos, more pics would be great.

 

[krusty]

very nice...........

 

[zen]

A Nikon, well that explains it, with all due respect Sdaji.
I don't mean to take anything away from your artistry 8)
The composition is perfect in your pic, as well as the lighting, depth of field etc.
Nikons have got the best lenses in the world & it shows in your pic.

I'm glad your enjoying the thread.

Here's another pic.

Their camouflage is pretty good on the sandstone.

An interesting feature of this species is the small retractile claw on the extremity of each digit (Jenkins & Bartell, 1980). This is an adaptation to their broad range of habitats from forests to arid scrubs.

Another interesting fact about this species is that they penetrate into cool damp regions better than any other Diplodactylus (Wilson & Swan, 2003).

 

[Pike01]

Heres a brissy one.

 

[Pike01]

And a couple of hatchies

 

[Sdaji]

Thanks, pike! They're quite different from the hatchlings I've seen (I've never seen QLD hatchlings).

With the possible exception of the Green Children's Python thread, I can't recall enjoying any APS thread as much as this one. Does anyone have pictures of Victorian or SA vittatus? I can't seem to find any of my Vic pictures, I may have lost them. I've never seen a SA vittatus and only a couple of pictures.

 

[zen]

Yeah, it's interesting to see Brisbane specimens Pike.
The vertebral zig-zag is much more prominent.

I'm surprised how faint the hatchlings pattern is though.
I wonder if this is typical of the species (?)
They're so tiny!

 

[Sdaji]

The hatchlings I've seen looked nothing like their parents. They change dramatically as they grow, it's really wonderful to watch them change

 

[zen]

Did they have a reduced pattern like Pikes, Sdaji?

 

[Rennie]

Sdaji said:

the Green Children's Python thread

Where is that? I looked around but can't find it, is it gone or just hiding from me? That sounds interesting, were they just olive green or a bright "GTP" green?

Sorry to go off topic everyone, I like the gecko's (those hatchies are adorable pike1) but that really caught my attention.

 

[MrBredli]

I was just looking through some photos and found this one. Please excuse the poor quality, i just took this pic (of the photo) with my digi as my scanner is not hooked up. I have some more photos around somewhere that i'll try to find.

 

[Davem54]

yes sdjai please post some more . i am interested.

 

[Sdaji]

The Green Children's Python thread was started soon after someone put up a wanted ad for green olive pythons. I think it started something like "Hi all, I've after some Green Children's Pythons, not the dull olive green ones, or the pale washed out green phase, I want the bright lime green ones". I think it had subtle references to other things going on on APS at the time and wouldn't be as funny if you read it now. There aren't any of either species worth calling green, but as in both of those old threads, no doubt someone will claim otherwise. Sorry to go off topic.

zen: the hatchlings I've seen were speckled. They had what you might call 'reduced' pattern, but they weren't like Pike's. The pattern completely changed as they grew and the way in which they changed seemed quite strange. Most species which have dramatic changes (think chondroes) have elements in the original pattern which are retained in the adult pattern, even though they're different. These geckoes didn't. I'm not sure if that's typical of the whole "species". It looks like Pike's might hatch out patternless and then gradually take on the adult pattern, which would be less unusual. Perhaps they start off patternless then develop the juvenile pattern, then develop the adult pattern. That would be even more cool!

 

[zen]

MrBredli, that's a classic Stone Gecko defensive pose in your pic. Well illustrated!
Thanks for putting it up, as I don't have any shots of that classic posture.

Sdaji, that's very interesting what you write regarding the hatchling transformation.
Their change in pattern and colour is dramatic. The hatchlings Pike posted look almost translucent to me.
It'll be fascinating to see how the species is divided up, whether it be into sub-species or seperate species. That specimen of yours looks significantly different from the Sydney and Brisbane one's.
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there's a marked division around Goulburn I think(?). I'll try and find it.

 

[zen]

Here's a blow-up of the hind foot showing the small retractile claw mentioned earlier and the divided subdigital lamellae.

Please excuse the pixelations.

 

[Jason]

its great to see some pictures of these geckoes, for years they have been my favorite species after keeping one about 7 yrs ago. i would deffinatly get some more (if i could ever find someone with them).

 

[zen]

Scientific paper on Diplodactylus vittatus

M. King reckons there are 5 distinct races of Diplodactylus vittatus, each of the five races being morphologically distinguishable and that each is regarded as a biological species.


Scientific paper abstract:-

Chromosomal and morphometric variation in the gekko Diplodactylus vittatus (Gray)

M King
Abstract
Chromosomal and morphometric analysis has shown that there are five distinct races of Diplodactylus vittatus: 2n = 38 EA, 2n = 34 SA, 2n = 36 WA, 2n = 38 WA A and 2n = 38 WA B. The 2n = 34 SA, and 2n = 36 WA races have evolved independently in Eastern and Western Australia and are interpreted as the products of chromosomal fusions. Each of the five races is morphologically distinguishable, has an extensive and discrete distribution and is chromosomally constant throughout its range; each is regarded as a biological species. The present-day distribution suggests that the fusion races may have evolved by stasipatric speciation.

Australian Journal of Zoology 25(1) 43 - 57

via CSIRO Publishing


I haven't read the full article. Has anyone picked its brains or know what the breakdown is?