Christinus alexanderi
Encyclopedia
Christinus alexanderi, a species of Gekkonidae, are geckos found in the Nullarbor Plain
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...

 of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is one of the many species and subspecies that are regionally termed as Marbled Geckos.

Description

The superficial appearance of this species is similar to that of Christinus marmoratus, the more widespread marbled gecko, but is distinguished by its scales at the nostril and chin. The marbled pattern of the species also gives a resemblance to the Gehyra variegata, the variegated Dtella, which is also found in its distribution range, but this species has claws on all its digits. The contrasted patterns of C. alexanderi is found in a variety of hues. They are frequently found sheltering under rocks.

The males are recorded as sexually active from January to May, but the females do not produce eggs until the spring period, September to October. It is supposed that the female stores sperm through this winter period.

The species is endemic to the Nullarbor Plain, occurring in most habitat of the region. This includes coastal limestone and mallee
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands is a Major Vegetation Group which occurs in semi-arid areas of southern Australia. The vegetation is dominated by mallee eucalypts which are rarely over 6 metres high...

 woodlands.

Classification

The species is of three in the genus Christinus
Christinus
Christinus, a genus of Gekkonidae, are geckos found in southern regions of Australia. It contains species and subspecies that are regionally termed as Marbled Geckos. The contrasted patterns of these geckos, its marbling, are found in a variety of reddish brown, grey, silver, white, black and...

, placed in the Gekkonidae (gecko) subfamily Gekkoninae
Gekkoninae
Gekkoninae is a diverse subfamily of Gekkonidae, geckos. It has the most species and genera— over 850 species in 75 genera. Hemidactylus, Cyrtodactylus and Sphaerodactylus alone account for 280 species...

, and was first described by Glen Storr in 1987, as Phyllodactylus marmoratus alexanderi, before being elevated to its current status as species Christinus alexanderi. The type specimen, a holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...

, was collected at Eucla.

Their placement within the genus may be summarised as follows:
  • Christinus
    Christinus
    Christinus, a genus of Gekkonidae, are geckos found in southern regions of Australia. It contains species and subspecies that are regionally termed as Marbled Geckos. The contrasted patterns of these geckos, its marbling, are found in a variety of reddish brown, grey, silver, white, black and...

    • Christinus alexanderi (endemic to Nullarbor Plain
      Nullarbor Plain
      The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...

      )
    • Christinus guentheri
      Christinus guentheri
      Christinus guentheri is a species of lizard in the Gekkonidae family.It is found at Australia islands, at the Norfolk and Lord Howe Island, and has a common name Lord Howe Island Southern Gecko....

      , (Lord Howe
      Lord Howe Island
      Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...

       and Norfolk Island
      Norfolk Island
      Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...

      )
    • Christinus marmoratus, (widespread: southern mainland, northwest interior)
      • Christinus marmoratus macrodactylus
      • Christinus marmoratus marmoratus
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