Hemidactylus mabouia - Tropical House Gecko / Lagartixa-Doméstica-Tropical (Moreau De Jonnès, 1818)

Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria: Gekkota: Gekkonidae: Gekkoninae

VERSÃO EM PORTUGUÊS AQUI: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/892339540

Date: 27th of October, 2017 at 07:53:00pm.

Hemidactylus mabouia belongs in the class Reptilia, order Squamata, suborder Sauria, infraorder Gekkota, family Gekkonidae and subfamily Gekkoninae. I do not know which tribe they belong to or even if they do belong to one. From what I saw, it's a domain that constantly suffers change, and I'm not sure if the Hemidactylus has been established into a fixed tribe for now.

The etymology of the genus name is based on the split lamella of the fingers and toes, where "Hemi" means "half", and "dactylos" (Greek) refers to the lamella under the fingers.

They can measure up to 12,7cm and generally weight around 4,6g-5g. The eyes of Hemidactylus mabouia are adapted to the nocturnal hours. The large eyes provide them with a means to detect prey in places with low lighting. Further adaptations include a camouflage mechanism where the Hemidactylus mabouia can slowly change its coloring from grey (almost white) to a light brown, to a darker brown. They prey many crawling and flying insects that come out at night and have learned to wait near light sources to catch prey drawn by the light. They can feed on a large amount of creatures, including Arachnids (which includes scorpions), Blattodeans, Lepidopterans, Isopods, Coleopterans, Myriapods, Orthopterans, other geckos and so on; special mention goes to Blattodeans and Orthopterans. They are natural to Africa but were accidentally introduced to almost all of America.

They are slender with a flat head which is wider than the neck. Their body are mostly covered in black or brown bands but they can change their coloring based on the temperature and light. They possess dorsal scales. The surfaces of the toes possess lamellae, tiny spike-like scales that help the species grip onto surfaces.

The eggs are small, white and calcified, preventing the loss of water. The eggs are soft and sticky which allows them to be placed on surfaces that are hard for predators to reach. Juveniles usually stay close together to shelter on low ground and crevices. Gamble (2010) states that the Hemidactylus mabouia are thought to have temperature-dependent sex determination due to the lack of sex chromosomes that are heteromorphic. Females can sperm-storage.

They can vocalize. The males use chirping signals and pheromones to attract the females. When approached by females, the males will arch their backs and flick their tongues. Females will show receptiveness to the calling of the males if interested. Two eggs are usually produced and the incubation period lasts from 22-68 days with an average of 56 days. The males provide no parental care. Females wave their tails more often than the males.

They are arboreal and fairly sedentary. The males communicate by using chirps with varying frequencies, some of which are specific during fights between males. Other methods of communication include chemosignals or pheromones, which can be used as territory marking, signaling dominance or to attract females.

They are preyed by many animals including birds, snakes, dogs, cats and spiders. Anti-predation techniques include vibrating their tails to distract the predator by drawing attention to the tail. They can also drop their tails to escape from danger; the tail will eventually regenerate.

Many Cestodes, Protozoans, Acanthocephalans, Nematodes and Pentastomids are parasites of Hemidactylus mabouia. The mite Geckobia tasmani is also known to parasitize the Hemidactylus mabouia. In Brazil they are erroneously thought to be venomous, being attributed the name "viper" by some - they are neither venomous nor poisonous.

Sources:

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hemidactylus_mabouia/

http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Hemidactylus&species=mabouia

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagartixa-doméstica-tropical

http://repositorio.unb.br/bitstream/10482/24294/1/2017_FênixPortoPontes.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_house_gecko

http://zoologia2013.blogspot.com/2013/12/lagartixa-domestica-tropical.html

http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/2335

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-46702011000600007