Ron's Critter of the Day

TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae (Geckos)

Genus/species: Phelsuma klemmeri

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Dorsal color is brown to turquoise with turquoise bands. A black lateral line runs from the eyes to the hind legs. The head and neck are yellow. The ventral surface is whitish; scales are small and smooth. Adults are about 9 cm (3.5 in) long.

DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Found only in northwest Madagascar among medium-sized bamboo in fragmented “bamboo islands.” When disturbed they hide in the cracks in older dead bamboo.

DIET IN THE WILD: Insects, other invertebrates and soft sweet fruit, pollen and nectar. In the wild, they avoid the hotter part of the day and usually hunt and forage in the early morning, late afternoon, or right after a shower.

DIET IN CAPTIVITY: A variety of insects, including crickets and fruit flies, but will also eat fruit baby foods. They also eat fruits such as guava, papaya, and peaches.

REPRODUCTION: Females lay eggs every 3 to 5 weeks. Like most geckos, she usually lay two eggs at a time, often inside a hollow piece of bamboo. The babies are iridescent and look like tiny copies of the adults. Newborns weigh a mere 0.1 g at birth.

CONSERVATION: IUCN Endangered (EN)
it is known from only two locations and occurs as a severely fragmented population, and there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of forest habitat within its range.

REMARKS: First described in 1990.

Geckos have very special feet that contain millions of hairs capable of producing electrical forces, probably van der Waals forces. These forces, which are molecular and not caused by a sticky substance, allow the gecko to attract any surface, even polished glass.

Rainforest Madagascar with Madagascar Tree Boa MA06

References

California Academy of Sciences Docent Rainforest Training Manual 2014

IUCN Red List  www.iucnredlist.org/details/172981/0

phelsumania www.phelsumania.com/public/systematics/species/phelsuma_k…

Ron’s WordPress shortlink http://wp.me/p1DZ4b-TM

Ron’s flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/3707689563/in/set-72157620708610230