Round Island day gecko
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| Round Island day gecko Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Phelsuma guentheri Boulenger, 1885 |
The Round Island day gecko (Phelsuma guentheri BOULENGER 1885) is a species of geckos. It lives on the islet Round Island and typically dwells on different palm trees. The Round Island day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.
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Description
This lizard belongs to the largest living day geckos. Males can reach a total length of about 30 cm, but often are much smaller. Females of this species are generally smaller than males. The body colour grayish or brown grayish. A dark brown stripe extends from the nostril to above the ear opening. On the back dark spots may be present. In some individuals, the legs and toes have light yellow bars. The ventral side is white or yellowish.
Distribution:
This species originally occurred on Mauritius and Réunion before rats and cats where introduced. Nowadays, P. guentheri inhabits only the islet of Round Island, 20 km north-northeast of Mauritius.
Habitat
P. guentheri is often found on different palms like bottle palms, fan palms (Lantania) and pandanus. Since much of the original vegetation is destroyed, also by tropical cylones, P. guentheri is forced the live on rocky crevices.
Diet
These day geckos feed on various insects and other invertebrates. They also like to lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.
Reproduction
The females lay up to 4 pairs of eggs. The young will hatch after approximately 53-68 days. The juveniles measure 75 mm.
Care and maintenance in captivity
These animals are endangered and are only bred by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust Zoo in England.
References
- Henkel, F.-W. and W. Schmidt (1995) Amphibien und Reptilien Madagaskars, der Maskarenen, Seychellen und Komoren. Ulmer Stuttgart. ISBN 3-8001-7323-9
- McKeown, Sean (1993) The general care and maintenance of day geckos. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside CA.