Ptyodactylus puiseuxi, also known commonly as the Israeli fan-fingered gecko, the northern fan-footed gecko, and the Syrian fan-fingered gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is native to the Middle East.
Etymology The specific name, puiseuxi, is in honour of French astronomer Victor Alexandre Puiseux.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Ptyodactylus puiseuxi, p. 212).
Description Ptyodactylus puiseuxi is a medium-sized gecko. It is light to dark brown, with numerous white spots on the dorsal surface. The head is large and triangular. The tail has several white bands, and is shorter than the overall head and body length (snout-to-vent length). The dorsal scales are small and granular.
Geographic range Ptyodactylus puiseuxi is found in Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
Habitat The preferred natural habitats of Ptyodactylus puiseuxi are desert and shrubland, at elevations up to , but it has also been found in artificial habitats such as rural gardens.
Behaviour Ptyodactylus puiseuxi usually emerges after dark to feed, but can be seen in rocky, shady areas, and near caves.
Reproduction Ptyodactylus puiseuxi is oviparous.
References
Further reading
Boutan L (1893). "Mémoire sur les Reptiles rapportés de Syrie par le Dr Th. Barrois, 1re partie, genre Ptyodactyle ". Revue Biologique du Nord de la France 5 (9–10): 329–345, 369–384 + Plate III. (Ptyodactylus puiseuxi, new species, pp. 379–384 + Plate III, figure 4). (in French). Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Ptyodactylus puiseuxi, p. 107). (in German). Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. . Werner YL, Sivan N (1993). "Systematics and zoogeography of Ptyodactylus (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae) in the Levant: 1. Biometry of three species in Israel". Revista Española de Herpetología 7: 47–64. Werner YL, Sivan N (1994). "Systematics and zoogeography of Ptyodactylus (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae) in the Levant: 2. Taxonomy, with a review of ecology and zoogeography". Revista Española de Herpetología 8: 105–122.