Flat-tailed house gecko

Flat-tailed house gecko
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Hemidactylus
Species: H. platyurus
Binomial name
Hemidactylus platyurus
(Schneider, 1792)
Synonyms
  • Cosymbotus platyurus
    (Schneider, 1792)
  • Platyurus platyurus
    (Smith, 1935)[1]

Hemidactylus platyurus, commonly known as the flat-tailed house gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae native to southeastern and southern Asia. The species is sometimes classified under the genus Cosymbotus.[2][3]

Description

Underside of the gecko showing webbed-toes and fringes

Snout longer than the distance between the eye and the ear opening, one time and a half the diameter of the orbit; forehead concave; ear-opening small, oval, oblique. Rostral four-sided, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril bordered by the rostral, the first labial and three nasals. Nine to eleven upper and seven or eight lower labials; mental large. triangular or pentagonal; two pair of chin-shields, the median pair large, in contact with each other, the posterior pair small, sometimes separated from the labials. Body depressed, covered above with uniform small granules, largest on the snout; a dermal expansion from axilla to groin and another along the posterior side of the hind limb. Ventral scales cycloid, imbricate. Male with an uninterrupted series of 34—36 femoral pores. Tail depressed, flat inferiorly, with sharp denticulated lateral edge, covered above with uniform small granules, below with a median series of transversely dilated plates. Limbs moderate, depressed; digits strongly dilated, about half-webbed, inner well developed; 3 to 6 lamellae under the inner, 7 to 9 under the median digits. Grey above, marbled with darker grey; generally a dark streak from eye to shoulder. Lower parts white. Length of head and body 61 mm.; tail 66 mm.[4]

Distribution

Bangladesh, N India (Darjeeling, Sikkim), Nicobar Islands, Nepal, Bhutan, China (Guangdong, SE Xizang = Tibet), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia (incl. Pulau Tioman), Burma (= Myanmar), Vietnam, New Guinea (?), Philippine Islands (Palawan, Calamian Islands, Panay, Luzon), Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores)

As a pet

These geckos are frequently found in the pet trade, including corporate chain stores, usually identified only as "house gecko". While there are other species of gecko available under the same common name, the Cosymbotus platyurus is easily identified by the flaps of skin along its sides, making them resemble a miniature flying gecko (Ptychozoon genus). They are easily maintained in a terrarium with frequent misting and insect prey, but they are not easy to handle. Also, herpetoculturists often use this species in addition to anoles as a feeder lizard for some species of snakes, especially Asian green vine snakes (Ahaetulla prasina).

Notes

  1. ↑ Bobrov, Vladimir V. Checklist and Bibliography of the Lizards of Vietnam. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service no. 105 (1995), p. 5
  2. ↑ Cosymbotus craspedotus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  3. ↑ "Cosymbotus craspedotus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  4. ↑ Rooij, Nelly de. 1915. The reptiles of the Indo-Australian archipelago. Volume 1. Leiden.

References

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