Pachydactylus austeni


Pachydactylus austeni, also known commonly as Austen's thick-toed gecko or Austen's gecko, is a species of small thick-toed gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is indigenous to the western coast of South Africa.

Etymology

The specific name, austeni, is in honour of English topographer Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen.

Habitat, behaviour and diet

The natural habitat of P. austeni is coastal dunes and alluvial sands, at elevations up to. It lives in a tiny burrow that it digs in the sand, and it leaves its burrow at night to forage for small insects among the dune vegetation.

Description

P. austeni has a smooth, colourful body with large eyes and conspicuous yellow or white eyelids.

Reproduction

P. austeni is oviparous.