Teratoscincus roborowskii Bedriaga, 1906

Open encyclopedia reference

Teratoscincus roborowskii, commonly known as the Tibetan wonder gecko or Turpan wonder gecko, is a species of gecko in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to the Turpan Depression in Xinjiang, northwestern China, where it occurs in arid shrubland and desert habitats. It reaches a snout-vent length of 75.5–93.6 mm (3.0–3.7 in), and adult males tend to have wider heads than adult females.

This lizard is a nocturnal and ground-dwelling species, emerging from its burrow to forage at night. Its diet shifts seasonally, feeding mainly on insects in spring and fruit in summer and autumn. The fruit of the caper bush is an important food item in certain months, and the gecko is also a seed disperser for this plant. During the winter, this reptile hibernates in its burrow.

Juveniles of this species are known to curl their tails forwards when threatened, most likely to mimic venomous scorpions and avoid predation. They are also similar in size, color and running patterns to Mesobuthus scorpions, further supporting the idea that they exhibit Batesian mimicry.

Wikipedia contributors, Teratoscincus roborowskii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:53:49.096106+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Teratoscincus roborowskii Bedriaga, 1906

Name authority

Bedriaga, 1906

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Sphaerodactylidae

Genus

Teratoscincus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderGekkota
11. familySphaerodactylidae
12. genusTeratoscincus
13. speciesTeratoscincus roborowskii Bedriaga, 1906

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Teratoscincus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 186 records assigned to Sphaerodactylidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Teratoscincus&species=roborowskii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:55DWS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.