Peninsula Leaf-Toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus nocticolus)
Description: 1 3/5 to 2 1/2 inches long from snout to vent. A medium-sized gecko with large eyes without movable eyelids and vertical pupils. Expanded toe pads that resemble leaves give this gecko its common name. The toes have two large flat scales at their tips with a claw inbetween them. Scales are small and granular with scattered enlarged keeled tuburcles. The tail is easily detached. Males have enlarged preanal pores. Color is a translucent gray, brown, or pink usually with dark brown blotches on the back. The underside is pale and unmarked.
Habitat: The peninsula leaf-toed gecko occurs in areas of desert shrubs and large open rocks. When looking at their range we can see that they live only in a small part of California. They have been found in abundance starting at the border, continuing through Anza-Borrego Desert State park and stopping just north of Palm Springs. Although they only inhabit a small part of California they are found all throughout Baja California along the peninsula. They live among desert chaparral and can be found in little crevices or on large bare rocks.
Range: Range extends from southern California (United States), from north of Palm Springs, south to southern Baja California (Mexico) (but does not include the southernmost part of Baja California), including more than 30 islands in Gulf of California and Islas Magdalena and Santa Margarita off the west coast of Baja California. Elevational range extends from sea level to about 610 meters. Extent of occurrence is somewhat less than 100,000 km. This species has been documented in hundreds of sites that are well distributed throughout the historical range.
Found in these States:
CA
Diet: Stalks its prey of small invertebrates, which include termites, spiders, moths, flies, and ants. Sometimes leaves rocks to forage on the ground, on trees, and buildings.
Reproduction: Breeds in April and May. Females lay several clutches of 1 to 2 eggs from May to July. Eggs are laid in crevices or under exfoliating bark. Eggs hatch from June to August.
Status: This species is not listed as an endangered species within California. This is likely due to the fact that they are found in areas where there is little to no human activity. Once humans start to slowly build and live within their environment then they may not thrive as well.
Subspecies: Three:
San Diego Island Leaf-toed Gecko - Phyllodactylus nocticolus acorius
Peninsula Leaf-Toed Gecko - Phyllodactylus nocticolus nocticolus
Sloan's Leaf-toed Gecko - Phyllodactylus nocticolus sloani
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Squamata - Lizards
»» Family: Gekkonidae - Geckos
»» Genus: Phyllodactylus
»» Species: Phyllodactylus nocticolus - Peninsula Leaf-Toed Gecko
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peninsula Leaf-Toed Gecko", 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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