Beaked Gecko - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Albert Günther in 1867. The monotypic genus is placed in the Diplodactylinae subfamily of Gekkonidae, which are found throughout Australasia. This group shares characteristics with several species of Diplodactylus, the conspicillatus group, Glen Storr has suggested that these could be transferred to this genus. Many of the characters of this species are found in Diplodactylus stenodactylus, their appearance, habitat and distribution, and Diplodactylus pucher has a similar snout and vertebrae. Synonyms for this species include Diplodactylus paraornatusand Rhynchoedura ormsbyi published by Wells & Wellington.

Research into the phylogenetic relationships of Diplodactylus has identified two clades, and the resurrection of Lucasium has been proposed. Rhynchoedura was found to be distinct from D. byrnei, D. steindachneri and the stenodactylus group, but may be considered as a sister group to these.