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Home »» Lizards »» Gekkonidae (Geckos) »» Common Four-clawed Gecko (Gehyra mutilata)


Common Four-clawed Gecko (Gehyra mutilata)Species of Least Concern





Classification: Introduced Species


Description: The head of G. mutilata is longer than broad. The snout is longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, about 1.3 times the diameter of the orbit. The forehead has a median groove. The ear-opening is moderately large and suboval. The body and limbs are moderately elongate and depressed. A fold of the skin borders the hind limb posteriorly. The digits are short and more or less webbed at the base. The inferior lamellae are angular and divided by a median groove. The upper surface of the body and the throat are covered with small granular scales, which are largest and flat on the back. The abdominal scales are moderate. The rostral is quadrangular, broader than deep, with a median cleft above. The nostril is pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three nasals, the upper much the largest and generally in contact with its fellow. There are 8 or 9 upper labials, and 6 or 7 lower labials. The mental is moderately large and pentagonal. There are 3 pairs of chin shields. The innermost pair is very large and elongate. The outermost pair is small, frequently broken up into small scales. The femoral pores are in a doubly curved line, angular in the middle, 14 to 19 on each side. The tail is depressed, normally with a sharpish, minutely serrated lateral edge. The upper surface of the tail is covered with very small flat scales. Its lower surface generally has a median series of large transversely dilated scales. G. mutilata is greyish or reddish brown above, uniform or dotted or variegated with darker. The lower surfaces are uniform whitish.


Habitat: This cosmopolitan, scansorial, nocturnal gecko has been found on a wide variety of substrates in a number of microhabitats including tree trunks, root tangles, branches, leaves, rock faces, cement drainages, houses, beneath debris on beaches, and within rock cracks. It occurs in all forest and plantation types, including palm oil plantations, and most disturbed habitats up to 1,400 m asl, being common in buildings.


Range: The species G. mutilata is widely distributed throughout Borneo, southeastern China, French Polynesia, Hawaii (Maui), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Mascarene Islands, western Mexico, Myanmar, New Guinea, the Philippines, the Pitcairn Islands, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.


Found in these States: CA | HI


Diet: It feeds on isopods, small insects and termites.


Reproduction: It seems to reproduce relatively late in the year, and females have been observed carrying two eggs.


Status: Listed as Least Concern on the basis that this is an extremely widespread, common species, and is not subject to major threats.


Subspecies: NOne


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Lizards
           »» Family: Gekkonidae - Geckos
             »» Genus: Gehyra
               »» Species: Gehyra mutilata - Common Four-clawed Gecko

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gehyra mutilata", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada     Lizards of the World: A Guide to Every Family     Texas Lizards: A Field Guide     National Geographic Readers: Lizards



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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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