Jaragua Sphaero
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Sauria Family: Gekkonidae Genus: Sphaerodactylus Species: S. ariasae
Binomial name
Sphaerodactylus ariasae Hedges & Thomas, 2001

The Jaragua Sphaero (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) is a gecko species in the Sphaerodactylus (dwarf gecko) genus. It is one of the world's two smallest known reptiles (the other is the S. parthenopion, native to the British Virgin Islands). The Jaragua Sphaero measures 16 mm from the snout to the base of the tail and can fit on a quarter. Its range is believed to be limited to Jaragua National Park in the extreme southwest of the Dominican Republic and the nearby forested Beata Island (Isla Beata) in Haiti. Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Suborders Lacertilia- Lizards Serpentes - Snakes Amphisbaenia - Worm lizards This article is about the Squamata order of reptiles. ... Subgroups Lepidosauromorpha Archosauromorpha Sauria is a clade of reptiles that includes all living diapsids, as well as their common ancestor and all its extinct descendants. ... This article describes gecko lizards. ... Classification of genus Sphaerodactylus: Sphaerodactylus altavelensis Sphaerodactylus argivus Sphaerodactylus argus Sphaerodactylus ariasae Sphaerodactylus armasi Sphaerodactylus armstrongi Sphaerodactylus asterulus Sphaerodactylus beattyi Sphaerodactylus becki Sphaerodactylus bromeliarum Sphaerodactylus caicosensis Sphaerodactylus callocricus Sphaerodactylus celicara Sphaerodactylus cinereus Sphaerodactylus clenchi Sphaerodactylus cochranae Sphaerodactylus copei Sphaerodactylus corticola Sphaerodactylus cricoderus Sphaerodactylus cryphius Sphaerodactylus darlingtoni Sphaerodactylus difficilis Sphaerodactylus docimus... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Subfamilies Aeluroscalabotinae Eublepharinae Gekkoninae Teratoscincinae Diplodactylinae Geckos are small to moderately large lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Classification of genus Sphaerodactylus: Sphaerodactylus altavelensis Sphaerodactylus argivus Sphaerodactylus argus Sphaerodactylus ariasae Sphaerodactylus armasi Sphaerodactylus armstrongi Sphaerodactylus asterulus Sphaerodactylus beattyi Sphaerodactylus becki Sphaerodactylus bromeliarum Sphaerodactylus caicosensis Sphaerodactylus callocricus Sphaerodactylus celicara Sphaerodactylus cinereus Sphaerodactylus clenchi Sphaerodactylus cochranae Sphaerodactylus copei Sphaerodactylus corticola Sphaerodactylus cricoderus Sphaerodactylus cryphius Sphaerodactylus darlingtoni Sphaerodactylus difficilis Sphaerodactylus docimus... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... The smallest organism found on Earth can be measured using a variety of different methods, and can be defined as the smallest by volume, mass, height, or length. ... The quarter is 1/4th of a United States dollar or 25 cents. ... In biology, the range of an species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. ... Jaragua National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Jaragua) is a national park of the Dominican Republic. ...

The species was first described by Blair Hedges, a Pennsylvania State University evolutionary biologist, and Richard Thomas, a University of Puerto Rico biologist, in the December 2001 issue of the Caribbean Journal of Science. The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related, land-grant university. ... Evolutionary biology is a subfield of biology concerned with the origin and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication, and diversity over time. ... The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) is the university system of Puerto Rico. ... The Caribbean Journal of Science (CJS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing articles, research notes, and book reviews related to science in the Caribbean, with an emphasis on botany, zoology, ecology, conservation biology, geology, archaeology, and paleontology. ...

The Jaragua Sphaero's binomial name was in honor of herpetologist Yvonne Arias, the leader of the Dominican conservation organization Grupo Jaragua, which was instrumental in securing the environmental protection of Jaragua National Park. In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Herpetology (Greek herpeton = to creep, to ramp and logos = in this context explanation or reason) is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles and amphibians. ...

References

• "World's Smallest Reptile Discovered in Caribbean: Tiny Lizard Fits on the Face of a U.S. Quarter"