Tropical house gecko
| Tropical house gecko | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Genus: | Hemidactylus |
| Species: | H. mabouia
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| Binomial name | |
| Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818)
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| Synonyms | |
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The tropical house gecko, Afro-American house gecko or cosmopolitan house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) is a species of house gecko native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is also currently found in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, where it has been inadvertently introduced by humans.[3][4]
Description[edit]
Diet[edit]
Its diet is varied, and includes animals such as isopods, centipedes,[5] spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, beetles,[5] moths, flies, mosquitoes,[6] snails, slugs, frogs, anoles, other geckos and blind snakes, with the most important element being Orthoptera species.[7]
Vocalization[edit]
As with many gecko species, it has the ability to vocalize. Its vocalizations range from quiet peeps to rapid short squeaking sounds. They may be heard most easily on a quiet night when they are sitting near an open window.
Habitat[edit]
The tropical house gecko can be found predominantly in urban locations.
Behavior[edit]
Tropical house geckos are mainly nocturnal and are voracious hunters of nocturnal flying and crawling insects. They have learned to wait near outside wall-mounted lighting fixtures so as to catch the insects that are drawn to the light.
Human impact[edit]
In some Caribbean cultures it is considered good luck to have a tropical house gecko residing in one's home, and certainly they do eat a lot of household insect pests. However, the feces of the tropical house gecko are approximately 5 mm (0.20 in) long, 2 mm (0.079 in) wide, and dark brown (almost black) in color. The gecko will usually confine its feces to one area of a home, but this can present as a problem to humans if that area of the home happens to include a pale-colored carpet, drapes, or any other easily stained surface. The stains are not easily removed, and the droppings have to be physically scooped up as well.[8]
Despite actually being harmless, the common house gecko or 'wood slave' is considered by some in Trinidad & Tobago to be a bad omen, and to have a poisonous touch. This is an old superstition and, in reality the house gecko is not only harmless, but also beneficial due to its hunting prey including mosquitos and cockroaches.
References[edit]
- ^ Howell, K.; Msuya, C.A.; Ngalason, W.; Luiselli, L.; Chirio, L.; Wagner, P.; Niagate, B.; LeBreton, M.; Bauer, A.M. (2021). "Hemidactylus mabouia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T196915A2477783. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T196915A2477783.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Carlos Cesar Martinez Rivera; et al. (2003). "Tropical house gecko" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 39 (3). University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez: 321–326. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
- ^ Anjos, L. A.; Almeida, W. O.; Vasconcellos, A.; Freire, E. M. X.; Rocha, C. F. D. (Aug 2008). "Pentastomids infecting an invader lizard, Hemidactylus mabouia (Gekkonidae) in northeastern Brazil". Brazilian Journal of Biology. 68 (3). São Carlos: 611–615. doi:10.1590/S1519-69842008000300019. ISSN 1519-6984. PMID 18833483.
- ^ a b Lennox, Bryan. "Hemidactylus mabouia (House gecko)". Animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Hemidactylus mabouia (African House Gecko)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ https://www.reptilesofecuador.com/hemidactylus_mabouia.html
- ^ "House geckos". Citybugs.tamu.edu. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
Further reading[edit]
- Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidae ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I- XXXII. (Hemidactylus mabouia, pp. 122–123).
- Duméril, A.M.C., and G. Bibron. 1836. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles, Tome troisième. [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles, Volume 3 ]. Paris: Librairie Encyclopédique Roret. iv + 517 pp. (Hemidactylus mabouia, pp. 362–363).
- Moreau de Jonnès, [A]. 1818. "Monographie du Mabouia des murailles, ou Gecko Mabouia des Antilles." Bulletin des Sciences par la Société Philomatique de Paris, Series 3, 5: 138-139. ("Gecko Mabouia", new species).
- Schwartz, A., and R. Thomas. 1975. A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Hemidactylus mabouia, p. 124).