Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
    The Gold Dust Day Gecko are all multicellular, eukaryotic heterotrophs. Most animals reproduce sexually. These animals injest their food and digest the contents internally in a cavity. The support system is skeletal based, attaching with muscles at the tendons to facilitate movement. Their circulatory system is closed, with a four-chambered heart to pump blood throughout the body. Oxygen is absorbed through the lungs, and integrated into the blood stream through the alveoli sacs. The Phelsuma laticauda has bilateral symmetry.

Phylum: Chordata
        P. laticauda has a segmented body and muscles. They have a notochord, which is a rod (typically known as the spinal cord) which extends throughout most of the body. This provides support to the organism during movement. The Gold Dust Day Gecko has three germ layers and a coelom.
Class: Reptilia
        This gecko produces eggs with an extra membrane to allow them to lay their eggs on land. Phelsuma laticauda have scales and are cold-blooded creatures.
Order: Squamata
        P. laticauda are able to move their quadrate bone in the jaw allowing them to move their upper jaws (similarly to snakes).
Family: Gekkonidae
        These lizards are typically found in tropical areas with a lot of species diversity. A unique quality of the Gold Dust Day Gecko, like all geckos, is a lack of eyelids. In its place are rounded pupils and a clear plate covering the surface of their eyes, which can be cleaned using their tongues.
Genus: Phelsuma
        P. laticauda, similarly to the geckos in this genus are mainly active during the day. Many of these lizards have bright colors, and their specific coloration patterns can help identify to which species they belong.
Species: Phelsuma laticauda
        The coloration described in the adaptations separates it from the other species of the Phelsuma genus. Other factors that aid in the identification of the Phelsuma laticauda are its diet, reproduction, and its habitat.

Figure 1. Phelsuma laticauda phylogenetic tree (photo courtesy of Sara Rocha)

Figure 2. Phelsuma laticauda additional phylogenetic tree (photo courtesy of Jeremy Austin)