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Andaman giant gecko

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Andaman giant gecko
A closer look at the eye
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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), also known commonly as the Andamanese giant gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is indigenous to the Andaman Islands

Etymology

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

Geographic range

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G. verreauxi is endemic to the Andaman Islands of India.[3]

Description

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Reaching a total length (including tail) of more than one foot (30 cm),[4] the Andaman giant gecko is one of the world's largest geckos.

Habitat

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G. verreauxi is commonly found on trees,[4] tree logs,[citation needed] and in crop fields.[citation needed]

Behaviour

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G. verreauxi 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

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G. verreauxi is oviparous.[3]

A Gekko verreauxi guards a clutch of eggs

References

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  1. ^ a b 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).
  3. ^ a b Gekko verreauxi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Veselý M (1999). "A note on the morphology and natural history of Gekko verreauxi Tytler 1864 (Reptilia, Sauria, Gekkonidae)". Senckenbergiana Biologica. 79 (1): 95–99.

Further reading

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  • Ota H, Hikida T, Matsui M (1991). "Re-evaluation of the Status of Gekko verreauxi Tytler, 1864, from the Andaman Islands, India". Journal of Herpetology 25 (2): 147–151.
  • Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Gekko verreauxi, p. 82). (in German).