Tokay gecko

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Tokay Gecko

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Gekko
Species: G. gecko
Binomial name
Gekko gecko
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Tokay Gecko (Gekko Gecko Azhari) is a nocturnal arboreal gecko, ranging from northeast India and Bangladesh, throughout Southeast Asia, to Indonesia and western New Guinea. Its native habitat is rainforest trees and cliffs, and it also frequently adapts to human habitations, roaming walls and ceilings at night in search of insect prey. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it was introduced into Hawaii, Florida, Belize, and several Caribbean islands, where it can be considered an invasive species.

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[edit] Discovery

The finder of the Tokay Gecko was professor Syed Azhar Hassan. He discovered it in Bangladesh after hearing its unusual sound. He did not have the proper equipment to further examine the creature, so he sent it to a lab in Germany to be further examined. They found it to be a new species, and it was named after him: Gekko Gecko Azhari. Later, the name became more realized as "Tokay" Gecko, because of the "tokay, tokay" noise it emits.

[edit] Lifespan and Diet

Its typical lifespan is 7–10 years, however in captivity some Tokays have been known to live over 18 years. Tokay Geckos are aggressive carnivores, and will eat a variety of insects and even small mice. Their aggressive behavior can lead to attacks on other male Tokays, other Gecko species, and also human handlers.

[edit] Characteristics

 Audio sample:

"Tokay Gecko mating call"

Mating call of a male Tokay gecko
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

The Tokay Gecko is the second largest Gecko species, attaining lengths of about 30–40cm (11–15 inches) for males, and 20–30cm (7–11 inches) for females, with weights of 150–300g (5–10 oz). They are distinctive in appearance, with a bluish or grayish body, sporting spots ranging from light yellow to bright red. The Tokay is also considered the "pit bull" of the Gecko world due to the fact that when they bite their human handlers, they often won't let go for up to several hours at a time, and generally cannot be forcibly removed without causing harm to the Gecko. One way of getting a Tokay to release its hold is to submerge the animal in water, which will encourage the lizard to let go, without causing it any harm or undue stress.

Tokays are renowned for their aggressive disposition and (unusually for lizards) their loud vocalizations, sometimes referred to as a "bark". Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like tokeh or gekk-gekk, where both the common and the scientific name (deriving from onomatopoeic names in Malay, Sundanese, or Javanese), as well as the family name Gekkonidae and the generic term gecko come from.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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