Andaman giant gecko

Andaman giant gecko
	A closer look at the eye
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Gekko
Species:	G. verreauxi
Binomial name
	Gekko verreauxi; Tytler, 1865[1]

The Andaman giant gecko (Gekko verreauxi) is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae.

Etymology

The specific name, verreauxi, is in honor of French naturalist Jules Verreaux.^[1]^[2]

Geographic range

It is endemic to the Andaman Islands of India.^[3]

Description

Reaching a total length of more than one foot (30 cm), the Andaman giant gecko is one of the world's largest geckos.

Habitat

It is commonly found on trees, tree logs, and in crop fields.

Behaviour

It hides by day in cavities or under bark plates of trees (typically Manilkara litoralis), and comes out after sunset to prey on insects. It is shy and well camouflaged.^[4]

Reproduction

It is oviparous.^[3]

A Gekko verreauxi guards a clutch of eggs

References

1 2 Tytler RC (1865). "Observations on a few Species of Geckos alive in the possession of the author". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 33 [1864]: 535-548. (Gekko verreauxi, new species, p. 546).
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Gekko verreauxi, p. 274).
1 2 Gekko verreauxi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 August 2016.
↑ Vesely M (1999). "A note on the morphology and natural history of Gekko verreauxi TYTLER 1864" (PDF). Senckenbergiana Biologica. 79 (1): 95–99.

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[Tytler-1] 1 2 Tytler RC (1865). "Observations on a few Species of Geckos alive in the possession of the author". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 33 [1864]: 535-548. (Gekko verreauxi, new species, p. 546).

[2] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Gekko verreauxi, p. 274).

[RDB-3] 1 2 Gekko verreauxi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 August 2016.

[Vesely-4] Vesely M (1999). "A note on the morphology and natural history of Gekko verreauxi TYTLER 1864" (PDF). Senckenbergiana Biologica. 79 (1): 95–99.