Marbled leaf-toed gecko

The marbled leaf-toed gecko[2] (Afrogecko porphyreus) is a gecko found in southern and southwestern South Africa (including many offshore islands) and in Namibia.[3] It is a flat, medium-sized gecko.

Marbled leaf-toed gecko
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Afrogecko
Species:
A. porphyreus
Binomial name
Afrogecko porphyreus
(Daudin, 1802)
Synonyms

Gecko porphyreus Daudin, 1802 Phyllodactylus porphyreus (Daudin, 1802)

Description

It has a mottled, greyish body, a long tail and sometimes a pale stripe along its back. It is an adaptable little forager, hiding under debris, beneath bark, among rocks and even in city houses.

These geckos eat large numbers of small insects, so a population of them living on one's property serves as a natural form of pest-control. However, domestic cats - as introduced predators - will usually kill large numbers of these little lizards, often exterminating them from the immediate area. Their diet is an array of invertebrates, including feeder insects.

Distribution

This gecko occurs commonly in the southern parts of South Africa, from Cape Town (where it now inhabits suburban gardens) eastwards as far as the Eastern Cape.

A. porphyreus are not aggressive or territorial, and several of them will often live together in a single retreat. These sociable lizards will even share nests, where several females will lay their eggs.

References
  1. Branch, W.R. 2017. Afrogecko porphyreus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T169704A110307444. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T169704A110307444.en. Downloaded on 21 December 2017.
  2. "Afrogecko porphyreus (Marbled leaf-toed gecko)". Biodiversity Explorer. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  3. Afrogecko porphyreus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 23 August 2016.
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