Lizards > Geckos > Small-scaled Leaf-toed Gecko

Geckos (Gekkonidae; geitjies)

Small-scaled Leaf-toed Gecko / Kleinskub Blaartoongeitjie

Goggia microlepidota

Size The only large member of the genus, reaching a snout-vent length of close to 70 mm.

Description The body of this large gecko is covered with very small granular scales. The tail, which is just longer than the body, is cilindrical and unsegmented. Males have 4-9 preanal pores and 4-6 cloacal spurs. The dorsal body is grey in colour with a black reticulate pattern. The underparts are off-white.

Biology Very little is known about the biology of this species. It is nocturnal and lives in large cracks in sandstone rock or under the bark of dead Clanwilliam ceder trees. The diet includes a wide variety of small insects. It lays two eggs during spring.

Distribution Its range stretches from Pakhuis Pass, east of Clanwilliam, in the north, to the Keerom Mountains near Worcester in the south.

Distribution in GCBC Probably absent in the extreme eastern and western parts of the Corridor and north of Pakhuis Pass.

Conservation status Listed as Lower Risk in the international IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Threats None identified.

Current studies None. Recent studies include:

BAUER, A.M., GOOD, D.A., & BRANCH, W.R. 1997. The taxonomy of the southern African leaf-toed geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with a review of Old World “ Phyllodactylus ” and the description of five new genera. Proceedings of the California Academy of Science 49: 447-497.