| Duvaucel's gecko | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Diplodactylidae |
| Genus: | Hoplodactylus |
| Species: | H. duvaucelii |
| Binomial name | |
| Hoplodactylus duvaucelii (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836) | |
| Synonyms [3] | |
Duvaucel's gecko (Hoplodactylus duvaucelii) is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
H. duvaucelii is found on predator-free offshore islands of New Zealand, including Great Barrier Island and a number of Cook Strait islands. [4] In March 2010 a Duvaucel's gecko was caught in a trap at the nature reserve Maungatautari, indicating that it is likely not extinct from mainland New Zealand. [5] Genetic analysis confirmed that this gecko specimen represents a relic mainland population. [6]
H. duvaucelii may attain a total length (including tail) of up to 30 cm (12 in), with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) up to 16 cm (6.3 in), weighing up to 120 grams (4.2 ounces), making it the largest living gecko in New Zealand. The oldest known wild Duvaucel's gecko was aged at least 36 years. [7]
Duvaucel's gecko is a heavy-bodied lizard with a relatively large head, and long toes with expanded pads. Its colouration is mainly grey, often with a faint olive-green hue. Usually there are 6 irregular blotches lying across the body from side to side between the back of the head and the base of the tail which is never striped.
H. duvaucelii is nocturnal but sometimes sun basks. It eats relatively large prey, such as puriri moths and wētā. Fossil evidence suggests that it was once much more widespread, but predation by introduced mammals has ensured its range is now much reduced. [8] Duvaucel's gecko both forages on the ground and is arboreal, living in scrub and forest, and along the shoreline of the islands to which it is presently confined. [1] Females do not lay eggs but give birth to live young. [1] [3]
The species H. duvaucelii was erroneously named after Alfred Duvaucel, a French naturalist who explored India. The museum specimens taken to Europe were credited to him, and only later were the animals found to have come from New Zealand. [9]
Duvaucel's gecko was reintroduced to the mainland of New Zealand at the end of 2016 when 80 animals were released in the Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary on the Tawharanui Peninsula. [10]
Aristelliger is a genus of Caribbean geckos in the family Sphaerodactylidae, commonly known as croaking geckos or Caribbean geckos. The nine named species in the genus are native to various islands in the West Indies, though the species A. georgeensis is also found on mainland Belize. Aristelliger species are nocturnal and mostly arboreal, occupying palm tree trunks and other vertical surfaces. They are among the largest neotropical geckos, with A. lar reaching up to 135 mm in snout-vent-length. They are primarily insectivorous, feeding on a variety of arthropods. Cannibalism of eggs and hatchlings has been reported in A. cochranae. A. lar is omnivorous, and may be an important seed disperser for fruits of the plant Marcgravia. Many species of Aristelliger are accustomed to living among human structures, though several are threatened by urban and agricultural development or invasive species.
Hoplodactylus is a genus of geckos in the family Diplodactylidae. The genus is endemic to New Zealand, one of the seven genera of geckos found only in New Zealand. Hoplodactylus comprises two species of large to gigantic brownish lizards.
Naultinus is a genus of geckos that are endemic to New Zealand. On account of their striking colouration, species in the genus Naultinus are commonly known as green geckos. There are nine described species in the genus. Species in the genus share a number of traits that set them apart as quite different from the rest of the world's two thousand odd gecko species, which are generally brown in colour, ovivaparous, short-lived and nocturnal. In contrast, Naultinus are green, ovovivaparous, live up to 30 years or more and are strictly diurnal. New Zealand has a temperate, maritime climate, and in terms of distribution Naultinus is one of the southernmost gecko genera in the world — some species live in habitats in the South Island which receive regular snowfall in winter. Animals in this genus possess several physiological and behavioural adaptations to cope with these periods of low temperatures and adverse weather.
The Northland green gecko, also known commonly as Gray's tree gecko is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is found only in the Northland region of New Zealand, north of Whangaroa; it is one of the rarest and most highly sought after lizards.
Gigarcanum delcourti, formerly Hoplodactylus delcourti, is an extinct species of gecko in the family Diplodactylidae. It is the largest known of all geckos, with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 37 cm (14.6 in) and an overall length of at least 60 cm (23.6 in). It is only known from a single taxidermied specimen collected in the 19th century that was rediscovered unlabelled in a museum in France. The origin of the specimen was undocumented. While originally suggested to have been from New Zealand and the kawekaweau of Māori oral tradition, DNA evidence from the specimen suggests that it originates from New Caledonia.
Whitaker's skink, also known commonly as Whitaker's New Zealand skink, is an endangered species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is found only in New Zealand.
Falla's skink, also known commonly as the Three Kings skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to New Zealand.
The gold-striped gecko, gold-stripe gecko, or golden sticky-toed gecko is a species of gecko in the family Diplodactylidae. It is endemic to New Zealand, and is only found in the Taranaki region and Mana Island. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
The black-eyed gecko, also known commonly as Whitaker's sticky-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. An alpine gecko species, discovered in 1970, it inhabits high-altitude mountains in three areas of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the highest-altitude lizard species in New Zealand, living up to 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level.
The harlequin gecko, formerly Hoplodactylus rakiurae, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south of New Zealand, where it was discovered in 1969. In terms of distribution it is one of the southernmost gecko species in the world.
The Stephen's Island gecko, also known commonly as the Cook Strait striped gecko, Stephen's sticky-toed gecko, and the striped gecko, is a species of gecko in the genus Toropuku in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Woodworthia maculata, also known as the New Zealand common gecko or Raukawa gecko, is a species in the family Diplodactylidae. The specific name maculata means "speckled".
Dactylocnemis pacificus, the Pacific gecko or Pacific sticky-toed gecko, is a species in the family Gekkonidae, endemic to the North Island and offshore islands of New Zealand. D. pacificus is the only described species in the genus Dactylocnemis, but five offshore island forms may represent new species.
The Diplodactylidae are a family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and widespread family of geckos in both Australia and New Caledonia, and are the only family of geckos found in New Zealand. Three diplodactylid genera have recently been split into multiple new genera.
Mokopirirakau is a genus of geckos in the family Diplodactylidae. Mokopirirakau is endemic to New Zealand. Mokopirirakau, meaning "forest gecko", is derived from the Maori language.
The western spiny-tailed gecko is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
The Canterbury gecko is a gecko found in the South Island of New Zealand. It is also known by the Māori names Waitaha gecko and Moko-pāpā, and as the brown gecko. It had previously been placed in a different genus and called Hoplodactylus brunneus, but further study split the genus Hoplodactylus into six genera, with some groups close to the former Hoplodactylus maculatus "Canterbury" being assigned to the new genus Woodworthia.
Pygopodoidea is a gecko superfamily and the only taxon in the gekkotan subclade Pygopodomorpha. The clade includes three Australasian families: Diplodactylidae, Carphodactylidae, and Pygopodidae. Traditional gekkotan systematics had considered Diplodactylidae and Carphodactylidae as subfamilies of the family Gekkonidae, but recent molecular work have placed Pygopodidae within Gekkonidae making it paraphyletic. These analyses have shown support of Pygopodidae and Carphodactylidae being sister taxa, with Diplodactylidae occupying a basal position in Pygopodoidea.
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