Subfamily GEKKO - Typical Geckos

Hemidactylus care details

Species

Publication

Zimmermann

Rogner, Echsen 1

Henkel/Schmidt, Geckos

Mattison, Keeping & Breeding Lizards

Walls, Geckos

H. brookii

Y

Y

Y

H. flaviviridis

Y

Y

Y*

H. frenatus

Y

Y

Y

H. garnotii

Y

H. mabouia

Y

Y

H. maculatus

Y

H. turcicus

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

QUICK INDEX

H. aaronbaueri, Aaron Bauer’s House Gecko

H. acanthopholis

H. achaemenidicus

H. adenis

H. aemulus

H. afarensis

H. agrius, Country Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. albituberculatus

H. albopunctatus

H. alfarraji

H. almakhwah

H. amarasinghei

H. alkiyumi

H. aporus

H. aquilonius

H. arnoldi

H. asirensis

H. awashensis

H. barbierii, Barbieri’s Turkana Gecko

H. barbouri, Barbour's Gecko

H. barodanus, Enigmatic Gecko

H. bavazzanoi, Somali Banded Gecko

H. bayonii

H. benguellensis, Benguela House Gecko

H. beninensis

H. biokoensis, Bioko Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. bouvieri

H. bowringi, Oriental Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. brasilianus, Amaral’s Brazilian Gecko

H. brookii, Brooks' Gecko

H. carivoensis

H. chikhaldaraensis, Chikhaldara Brookiish Gecko

H. chipkali, Central Indian Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. cinganji

H. citernii, Speedy Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. coalescens

H. craspedotus, Mocquard’s House Gecko, Frilled Gecko, Frilly House Gecko

H. curlei, Parker’s Gecko, Northern Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. dawudazraqi

H. depressus

H. dracaenocolus

H. dungeri

H. easai, Easa’s Rock Gecko

H. echinus, Hedgehog Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. endophis

H. eniangii

H. farasani, Farasan Gecko

H. fasciatus, Banded-Tail Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. faustus

H. festivus

H. flavicaudus, Mahabubnagar Yellow-Tailed Brookiish Gecko

H. flaviviridis, Yellow-Belly Gecko, Northern House Gecko

H. forbesii, Socotra Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. foudaii

H. fragilis

H. frenatus, Chit-Chat

H. funaiolii, Archer's Post Gecko

H. garnotii, Indo-Pacific Gecko

H. giganteus, Gigantic Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. gleadowi, Gleadow’s House Gecko

H. gracilis, Graceful Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. granchii, Granchii's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. granti, Grant's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. greefii, Greef’s Giant Gecko

H. gubanensis, Guban Gecko

H. guineensis, Brook’s House Gecko, Spotted House Gecko

H. gujaratensis, Gujarat Gecko

H. haitianus, Antillean House Gecko

H. hajaransis

H. hegdei

H. hemchandrai

H. homoeolepis, Arabian Leaf-Toed Gecko 

H. huluul, Huluul Gecko

H. hunae, Spotted Giant Gecko

H. imbricatus, Carrot-Tail Viper Gecko

H. inexpectatus

H. inintellectus, Socotran Rock Gecko

H. isolepis, Uniform-Scaled Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. ituriensis, Ituri Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. jubensis, Ethiopian Gecko, Mrioen Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. jumailiae

H. kalinga, Kalinga Rock Gecko

H. kamdemtohami, Kamdem Toham’s Gecko

H. kangarensis

H. karenorum, Burmese Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. kimbulae

H. klauberi, Klauber’s Gecko

H. kolliensis, Kolli Rock Gecko

H. kundaensis

H. kushmorensis, Kushmore House Gecko

H. kyaboboensis

H. laevis, Common Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. lamaensis

H. lankae, Sri Lanka Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. lanzai, Lanza’s Gecko

H. laticaudatus, Anderson's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. lavadeserticus, Syrian House Gecko

H. lemurinus, Dhofar Leaf-Toed Gecko 

H. leschenaultii, Leschenault's Leaf-Toed Gecko 

H. longicephalus, Long-Headed Tropical House Gecko

H. lopezjuradoi

H. luqueorum

H. mabouia, Tropical House Gecko

H. macropholis, Boulenger's Gecko

H. maculatus, Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. mahonyi

H. makolowodei

H. malcolmsmithi, Smith’s Bent-Toed Gecko

H. mandebensis

H. matschiei, Togo Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. megalops, Parker's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. mercatorius, Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. mindiae, Mount Sinai Gecko

H. minutus

H. modestus, Moderate Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. montanus, Mountain Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. mrimaensis, Kaya Gecko

H. multisulcatus

H. muriceus, Guinea Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. murrayi, Murray’s House Gecko

H. newtoni, Newton's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. nicolauensis

H. nzingae

H. ophiolepis, Snake-Scaled Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. ophiolepoides, Lanza's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. oxyrhinus, Sharp-Nosed Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. paaragowli

H. paivae, Paiva’s Gecko

H. pakkamalaiensis, Pakkamalai Rock Gecko

H. palaichthus, Antilles Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. parvimaculatus, Spotted House Gecko

H. paucifasciatus, Few-Banded Termite Hill Gecko

H. pauciporosus

H. paucituberculatus

H. persicus, Persian Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. platycephalus, Flat-Head Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. porbandarensis

H. prashadi, Bombay Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. puccioni, Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. pumilio, Dwarf Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. reticulatus, Reticulate Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. richardsoni, Richardson's Forest Gecko

H. robustus, Somali Plain Gecko

H. ruspolii, Prince Ruspoli's Gecko

H. scabriceps, Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. sinaitus, Sinai Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. smithi, Smith's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. somalicus, North Somali Plain Gecko

H. squamulatus, Nyika Gecko

H. stejnegeri, Stejneger's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. subtriedrus

H. tanganicus, Dutumi Gecko

H. tasmani, Tasman's Tropical House Gecko

H. taylori, Dakota's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. triedrus, Dakota's Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. tropidolepis, Ogaden Gecko

H. turcicus, Turkish Gecko

H. vietnamensis, Vietnam Leaf-Toed Gecko

H. yerburyi

Scientific Name

Common Name

Distribution

Size

Notes

Hemidactylus

H. aaronbaueri

Aaron Bauer’s House Gecko

India

Described in 2008: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. acanthopholis

India

Described in 2014: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. achaemenidicus

Iran

Described in 2019: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. adenis

Yemen

Described in 2015: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. aemulus

Emulous Leaf-Toed Gecko

India

Described in 2022: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. afarensis

Afar Gecko

Ethiopia

Described in 2022: see Reptile Database entry.

H. agrius

Country Leaf-Toed Gecko

NE Brazil

H. albituberculatus

Nigeria, N Cameroon, S Benin, S Togo

SVL 6-7½cm?

Described in 2012. Differs from H. angulatus by having carinated tubercles on the back and tail in three different colours: white, beige, and black or dark brown, and being generally larger. The SVL given is the size range attained by a majority of the geckos collected: see Reptile Database entry.

H. albivertebralis

Ghana, Benin, Guinea

Described in 2012: see Reptile Database entry. Scalation details: 16 rows of tubercles on back; diameter of tubercles less than distance between them; pointed tubercles along the dorsal length of the tail; medial subdigital lamellae enlarged. Coloration: overall yellowish to light beige with white vertebral stripe and dark beige wide transverse bands on neck, back and tail.

H. albopunctatus

Somalia, N Kenya, Ethiopia

Loveridge described this species as being found beneath stones or among grass in sandy regions interspersed by patches of grass and scrub, at altitudes of 2,700-3,800 ft. Description: snout longer than distance between eye and ear-opening; limbs short, overlapping when adpressed; digits free, slightly dilated, distal joints of fingers short, of toes much longer, inferiorly with divided scansors, 5-6 under 1^st toe, 6-8 under 4^th toe, merging into the granular scales of the sole. Scalation details: scales on snout juxtaposed, large, polygonal; nostril bordered by rostral, 1^st labial and 3 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; supralabials 7-8; sublabials 6-7; pair of large postmentals in contact on median line; sublabials bordered by some enlarged scales. Back and belly covered with imbricate scales, largest on the back, 70-80 at midbody in males, 96-102 in females; males with 12-19 preanal pores forming an angular series; hind surface of femur and tibia with some enlarged, irregularly disposed tubercles. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered with smooth scales like those on the body. Coloration: above, brownish-grey; black streak from nostril passes through eye and above ear and is bordered below by white line extending along supralabials to region of forearm; interrupted black line along sublabials continues as a series of widely separated spots to forearm; from eye along temple a short whitish stripe may be present or absent; on the occiput a V-shaped marking followed by a series of 5-7 distinct roundish white spots along the vertebral line; hind limbs spotted with white posteriorly; tail with median series of transversely oval spots anteriorly, and with two alternating dorsolateral series posteriorly. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. alfarraji

Saudi Arabia

Described in 2016: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. alkiyumi

S Oman

Described in 2012: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. almakhwah

Saudi Arabia

Described in 2016: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. amarasinghei

India

Described in 2025: see Reptile Database entry for details.

H. angulatus

Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda

TL 10.5 cm, SVL approx 5 cm

The status of this species seems a bit confused. Originally considered a species in its own right, it was then considered one or two subspecies of H. brookii, the latter case partly because of occurrence in the Caribbean as well as West Africa. Bauer et al considered it the most commonly encountered gecko species in Benin. See the Reptile Database entry for the history of its classification. Description: allied to H. brookii and gleadovii. Snout considerably longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, pointed. Infradigital lamellae few, 4-5 under the inner digits, 6-7 under the 4^th finger, and 7-8 under the 4^th toe; only the distal of these lamellae are well developed, the basal ones being small, tubercle-like. Scalation details: 8-9 upper and 6-7 lower labials. Lepidosis as in H. brookii, the tubercles forming 18-22 longitudinal series. Males with 8 femoral pores on each side, the two series widely separated. Coloration: light chocolate-brown above; most of the dorsal tubercles darker, the others pure white; two dark cross bands on scapular region, followed by others less distinct; a dark streak on the side of the head passing through the eye; tail with rings of white tubercles; lower surfaces white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. a. angulatus

H. a. leightoni

Venezuela, Colombia

H. ansorgii

Nigeria Leaf-Toed Gecko

Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon

TL 11.5 cm, SVL 5.5 cm

Description: head elongate, once and three fourths as long as broad, not very distinct from neck; snout obtusely pointed, longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; forehead slightly concave; ear-opening vertically oval, more than half the diameter of the eye. Body and limbs rather slender. Digits moderately elongate, free, normally formed, the inner well developed; 5 lamellae under the pollex, 8 under the fourth finger, 6 under the hallux, 11 under the fourth toe. Scalation details: head covered with very small granules, which are larger on the snout; rostral four-sided, twice as broad as deep, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the 1^st supralabial, and three nasals; 11 supralabials, 12 sublabials; symphysial triangular, twice as long as the adjacent labials; two pairs of chin-shields, the median pair forming a suture behind the symphysial. Upper surface of body covered with minute granules intermixed with small strongly keeled tubercles, forming 8 iregular longitudinal series; ventral scales quite as large as the dorsal tubercles, imbricate, smooth. No enlarged tubercles on the limbs. A short angular series of 9 preanal pores. Tail: cylindrical, slender, covered above with small granules and transverse series of subconical tubercles, beneath with large, irregular, imbricate, smooth scales. Coloration: dark brown above, with some lighter spots; whitish beneath, finely speckled with brown. [SOURCE: Boulenger 1901]

H. aporus

Anno Bono Island (Gulf of Guinea)

TL approx 9-11.5 cm; SVL approx 4.5-5.5 cm

Description: according to Boulenger (1906), closely allied to H. bocagii, but dorsal tubercles larger, closer together, forming 16-20 more regular longitudinal series, and male without preanal or femoral pores. 5 lamellae under the inner digit, 7 under the third and fourth. Coloration: pale brownish above with six or seven darker vary transverse bands on the nape and body; similar bands on the tail, but gradually darker towards the end, where they may be almost black and form complete annuli. [SOURCE: Boulenger 1906]

H. aquilonius

India, Myanmar, China (Yunnan)

Previously considered part of H. bowringii.

H. arnoldi

NW Somalia

Named after the late British herpetologist, Edwin Nicholas Arnold.

H. asirensis

Saudi Arabia

H. awashensis

Ethiopia

H. barbierii

Barbieri’s Turkana Gecko

N Kenya

H. barbouri

Barbour's Gecko
(Asian House Gecko)

Kenya and Tanzania

SVL 4½ cm, TL 8½ cm

Once considered a subspecies of H. squamulatus: however, as SHDA point out, the species differs from H. squamulatus by having only the largest of the enlarged, randomly scattered overlapping scales keeled. See SHDA for further differences. The species is found in the coastal mosaic vegetation zone but within that is most commonly found under piles of debris: Loveridge also reported it as being abundant beneath piles of palm fronds in coconut plantations. Description: digits moderately dilated, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 4-6 under 1^st toe, 6-8 under 4^th toe [but see note in Loveridge on difficulty in precise counting] Scalation details: nostril bordered by rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3-4 small nasals, of which uppermost is in contact with its fellow or separated by a single granule; 6-8 supralabials, 5-7 sublabials enlarged, randomly scattered and overlapping scales of differing sizes on the body; no enlarged tubercles. Subcaudal scales greatly enlarged. More slender and less robust than either H. squamulatus or H. tropidolepis. Coloration: overall greyish with dark crossbars or other markings; dark stripes often run from the nostril through the eye to meet on the back of the head. Ventrally usually uniform whitish. Reproduction: males have 16-23 preanal/femoral pores in a continuous row. No other details available. [SOURCE: Loveridge, SHDA]

H. barodanus

Enigmatic Gecko

Ethiopia, Somalia

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, with rather short distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 3 under the 1^st toe, 4-5 under the median toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3-4 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; 7-8 supralabials; 6-7 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with rather larger uniform granules; ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate, about 16-22 longitudinal series at midbody corresponding to a distance equal to the diameter of the eye; limbs without any strikingly large tubercles posteriorly; males with 2 preanal pores series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, uniform scales; below with smooth, imbricate scales of which the median series are transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, light brown; a dark streak from nostril passes through eye, and may be continued as far as the base of the tail; upper lip white; back with 5-6 dark cross bands on body, another across base of tail; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge] [needs working]

H. bavazzanoi

Somali Banded Gecko

SW Somalia and NE Kenya

SVL 4 cm

Known only from two male specimens, hence little known of natural history of the species, although SHDA suggest that it may be associated with riverine gallery habitats. Following details are all based on the two specimens known, so are not conclusive. Scalation details: smooth scales of unequal size; scattered large strongly keeled tubercles in 16-18 roughly regular longitudinal rows (about 14 at midbody); regenerated tails have numerous dorsal keeled tubercles. 3-6 subdigital lamellae under 1st toe, 6-9 (of which first 5 divided) under 4th. Coloration: overall colour bright pink or lemon-yellow, with 4 bands, of which 1 crescent-shaped at back of head, 2 on body and 1 on tail [SOURCE: SHDA].

H. bayonii

Angola

H. benguellensis

Benguela House Gecko

Angola, Namibia

H. beninensis

Benin

Min SVL 68 mm

Scalation details: one pair of greatly enlarged postmentals, in contact behind mental. 14–16 rows of relatively small tubercles. 49 scale rows across venter between lowest rows of tubercles. 6-7 enlarged paired scansors beneath fourth toes of both manus and pes. A single row of 38 precloacal-femoral pores in adult males. Tail: original tail atuberculate, with median subcaudal scales forming broad transverse plates. Coloration: dorsal pattern with a series of four complete, dark crossmarkings between nape and sacrum, alternating with incomplete transverse bands extending dorsally form the flanks but failing to meet along the dorsal midline. [SOURCE: Bauer et al]

H. biokoensis

Bioko Leaf-Toed Gecko

Equatorial Guinea

H. boavistensis

Boavista Leaf-Toed Gecko

Cape Verde Islands (Boa Vista, Santa Maria)

Description: closely resembling H. bouvieri in form and scaling, but digits rather more elongate and with more numerous lamellae, viz. 4-5 under the inner digit and 6-8 under the third and fourth, and the pair of chin-shields behind the symphysial usually larger. Coloration: yellowish, reddish, or pale greyish brown above, usually speckled with dark brown and with five curved and wavy, brown, dark-edged crossbands, the first from eye to eye across the occiput, the second on the nape; these bands may be interrupted by a series of dark brown spots along the middle of the back, or they may be very indistinct altogether: a dark brown streak on each side of the snout, with a yellowish streak above it; tail with more or less distinct crescentic dark bands above; lower parts white. In H. bouvieri, the light streaks on the snout are absent and the dark band on the side of the head is prolonged as far as the nuchal dark band. [SOURCE: Boulenger 1906]

H. b. boavistensis

Boa Vista Island

H. b. chevalieri

Sal Island, Cabo Verde

Differs from nominate subspecies in having 6 scansors under first digit instead of 4-5, and in lacking semitransverse interocular band on the occiput. One specimen examined was entirely uniform. [SOURCE: Loveridge 1947]

H. bouvieri

Cape Verde Islands

TL 65 mm

Description: snout acutely pointed, longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and a half the diameter of the orbit; forehead scarcely concave; ear-opening very small, round. Body and limbs short. Digits moderately dilated, free, with short distal joints; three lamellae under the inner digits, and four or five under the median digits. Scalation details: upper surfaces covered with uniform rather large granules, smallest on the hinder part of the head. Rostral four-sided, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three or four nasals ; seven or eight upper and six or seven lower labials ; mental large, triangular, nearly twice as long as the adjacent labials; two rather small chin-shields, followed by smaller ones passing gradually into the minute granules of the gular region. Abdominal scales large, cycloid, imbricate, smooth. Males with two preanal pores. Tail: thick, cylindrical, tapering, covered above with uniform small squarish smooth scales, inferiorly with a median series of transversely dilated plates. Coloration: light brown above, with transverse darker bands on the back and tail; upper lip white; a dark streak on the side of the head, passing through the eye; lower surfaces white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. b. bouvieri

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, with rather short distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 3 under the 1^st toe, 4-5 under the median toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3-4 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; 7-8 supralabials; 6-7 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with rather larger uniform granules; ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate, about 16-22 longitudinal series at midbody corresponding to a distance equal to the diameter of the eye; limbs without any strikingly large tubercles posteriorly; males with 2 preanal pores series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, uniform scales; below with smooth, imbricate scales of which the median series are transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, light brown; a dark streak from nostril passes through eye, and may be continued as far as the base of the tail; upper lip white; back with 5-6 dark cross bands on body, another across base of tail; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. b. razoensis

Razo Island

H. bowringi

Oriental Leaf-Toed Gecko

India, S China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan (Ryuku Islands inc. Okinawa)

H. brasilianus

Amaral’s Brazilian Gecko

Brazil

Formerly considered a member of the genus Briba.

H. brookii

Brooks' Gecko
(Asian House Gecko)

Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Eritrea and south to Angola and Dem Rep Congo; Indian subcontinent and SE Asia; Caribbean and N South America

6½ cm SVL,15 cm TL

Available as a pet gecko, though not as frequently as H. turcicus. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus. Another wide ranging gecko with a propensity for stowing away. Found on trees, rocks, under stones and on buildings; SHDA also record it from a variety of other locations including holes in earth banks, abandoned termite mounds, and beneath the bark of fallen trees. It is the most common house gecko in West Africa and the only Hemidactylus species on Lake Turkana's Central Island. However, Parker noted that in 1942 that none had been discovered in British Somaliland, which he found “peculiar”. Details: 14-25 dorsal conical tubercles arranged in regular rows; 6-8 rows of long pointed tubercles on tail or its base; 4-6 subdigital lamellae on 1st toe and 5-10 under 4th toe. Coloration: (India) brown or grey with brown spots; (East Africa) variable; may be dull orange, reddish-brown or in areas of laterite soil even bright red; black streak through eye; dorsal pattern three darker saddle-like markings; in both India and Africa it is ventrally whitish. Reproduction: males have 20-46 preanofemoral pores in a continous row. Females are apparently quite good breeders in captivity: eggs take 50 days to incubate at 32 deg. C (Mattison), although Daniel states that in the wild eggs hatch in 39 days. [SOURCE: Daniel, SHDA, Mattison]

H. b. brookii

H. b. angulatus

Africa (Senegal west to Zanzibar and Pemba Island)

Now considered a full species by some authorities: see section on H. angulatus.

H. b. leightoni

Venezuela and Colombia

H. b. parvimaculatus

H. b. subtriedroides

H. carivoensis

Angola

Described in 2021: see Reptile Database entry.

H. chikhaldaraensis

Chikhaldara Brookish Gecko

India

H. chipkali

Central Indian Leaf-Toed Gecko

India

TL approx 5.5 – 7.5 cm, SVL approx 3.5 cm

Described in 2017. The species was initially collected from vertical cliffs, and specimens were found actively moving on roadside rocks. Description: a moderate sized species of the genus; ear opening oval; limbs long and slender; 5 lamellae on digit I and 7 (rarely 8) on digit IV of manus as well as pes; lamellae on digit IV and V of pes absent on basal quarter of the digit. Scalation details: anterior postmental width equal to first sublabial; posterior postmental width equal to second sublabial, posterior postmental not in contact with first sublabial; enlarged, keeled, tubercles, fairly regularly arranged in 15–16 longitudinal rows on dorsum; two angular series of seven precloacal femoral pores on each side separated by diastema of eight non-pored scales; non-pored scales equal to size of pored scales; scales bordering anterior edge of pored scales half the size of pored scales; ventral aspect of tail with broad caudal scales covering four fifths of the tail; two subconical post cloacal spurs, anterior spur slightly larger than the posterior spur. Coloration: pale brown, with white and dark spots across dorsum; 3 adjoining brown spots over nape and similar spots at fairly regular distance from the preceding row all through the flank up to the trunk; each dark band separated from the subsequent one by loosely connected white spots, to form thin white bands; limbs pale brown with whitish spots all over dorsum; tail with alternate pale brown and cream coloured bands; underparts straw coloured. [SOURCE: Mirza and Raja]

H. cinganji

Angola

H. citernii

Speedy Leaf-Toed Gecko

NW Somalia

Short-snouted species with non-constricted tail. Scalation details: small dorsal scales intermixed with keeled tubercles. Other: digits have very short distal joints. 

H. coalescens

S Cameroon, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville)

Described in 2014: see Reptile Database entry.

H. craspedotus

Mocquard’s House Gecko, Frilled Gecko, Frilly House Gecko

W Malaysia, S Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia (inc. Sumatra and N Borneo)

H. curlei

Parker’s Gecko, Northern Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia, Ethiopia

SVL approx 4 cm

Named by H W Parker in 1942: he states that the five specimens that he found were all collected from among stones and rocks. Description: body very depressed; head broad and flat, its maximum width much greater than the distance between the tip of the snout and the posterior border of the eye. Scalation details: nostril pierced between the rostral, first upper labial and 3 nasals, of which the upper is separated from its fellow by a single scale. Rostral much broader than deep, with a median cleft. Snout flat, covered with rounded juxtaposed granules, which are much larger than those on the very flat occiput; 8-10 upper, and 6-8 lower labials; mental triangular, nearly as long as broad; median chin-shields very large, forming a long median suture; a much smaller second pair of chin shields is followed by some enlarged scales bordering the lower labials. Ear opening small, oblique, its distance from the eye equal to the distance between nostril and eye. Body depressed, with a slight, median dorsal furrow, covered above with somewhat irregular, flat, subcircular, sub-imbricate scales and below with cycloid imbricate scales which are nearly twice as large as the dorsals ; the latter are not absolutely uniform in size, but there is no trace of any definitely enlarged scales or tubercles; about 81-93 dorsals and ventrals in a series round the middle of the body. Tail: strongly depressed, with a median furrow, root-shaped and with a distinct basal constriction; it is covered above with imbricating scales arranged in transverse rows and is indefinitely annulate, 5 rows of dorsal scales forming an annulus; beneath there is a series of transversely enlarged subcaudals of which two occur on each annulus; the tip of the tail is regenerated, and this portion is not annulate, but covered above with quincuncially arranged imbricate scales and has transversely enlarged subcaudals. Other: limbs short, the adpressed hindlimb reaching the wrist. Digits well dilated basally and with moderately long terminal phalanges which extend well beyond the lamellar portion; lamellae extending on to the palms and soles, 5 under the inner, 8-9 under the fourth, and 7-9 beneath the fifth toe. Coloration: Yellowish above, heavily blotched and spotted with purplish black. A dark streak from the nostril through the eye and above the ear to the sides of the neck from whence it is continued as a row of spots to the base of the tail; flanks with an indefinite row of spots, and middorsal area with series of rather irregular transverse blotches ; tail with alternately darker and lighter cross-bars; limbs and flanks with scattered, circular, white spots. Lower surface white. Reproduction: males have 4 preanal pores. [SOURCE: Parker]

H. dawudazraqi

Jordan, Syria

H. depressus

Sri Lanka

TL 15½ cm

Scalation details: snout covered with granular scales, of which largest in front of orbits; rear part of head with minute granules intermixed with round tubercles; rostal subquadrangular, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between rostral, 1^st labial and 3-4 nasals; 10-12 supralabials, 8-10 infralabials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal, twice as long as adjacent labials; 4 large chin-shields, of which median pair largest, forming long suture behind point of mental; body covered dorsally with small flat granules intermixed with trihedral tubercles, forming 16-20 very irregular longitudinal rows; largest tubercles about quarter of the diameter of the eye; ventral scales moderate, smooth, rounded, imbricate. Other: head oviform; snout longer than distance between eye and ear-opening; forehead concave; ear-opening oblique, nearly half diameter of eye; skin forms lateral fold on belly from axilla to groin; digits distinctly webbed at base, moderately dilated, inner well developed with curved, scarcely oblique lamellae; 6-7 subdigital lamellae under inner digits, 9-10 under median fingers, 10-11 under median toes; males have 17-18 femoral pores on each side; tail tapering, very depressed anteriorly, flat below, with angular lateral edge; tail covered dorsally with small pointed imbricated scales that are enlarged and raised on the sides to form a strong denticulation, and 6-8 series of spine-like tubercles forming rings; median series of regularly transversely dilated plates ventrally. Coloration: dorsally light brown, marbled or cross-barred with brown; dark brown streak, white-edged above, on side of head, passing through eye; ventrally whitish. Reproduction: no details yet available. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. dracaenocolus

Yemen (Socotra Island)

See note in Reptile Database entry re origin of the species name.

H. dungeri

Nigeria

Described in 2025: see Reptile Database entry.

H. easai

Easa’s Rock Gecko

India

Described in 2022: see Reptile Database entry.

H. echinus

Hedgehog Leaf-Toed Gecko

Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire, Central African Republic

TL approx 11.5 cm, SVL approx 6 cm

Loveridge noted that the two rows of subcaudal tubercles appeared to distinguish this species from all its conspecifics. In life the tail is carried with the distal portion coiled, but when disturbed it is moved more or less vigorously. Description: snout rather pointed, longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and one third the diameter of the orbit forehead concave; ear-opening very small, oblique. Body and limbs moderate. Digits webbed at the base, moderately dilated, inner well developed ; infradigital lamellae very numerous, oblique, 10 under the inner digits, 11 under the 4^th finger, and thirteen under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: head covered with minute granules, largest on the snout, intermixed on the supraorbital, occipital,and temporal regions with larger round tubercles; rostral foursided, nearly twice as broad as high, with median cleft above nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, a large superonasal, and several minute granules ; 12-13 upper and 10 lower labials; mental large, triangular, its posterior angle truncate and in contact with a small median chin-shield; four other small chin-shields. Upper surface of body minutely granular, with numerous small convex tubercles scattered irregularly; on each side of the belly a series of long, spine-like scales. Abdominal scales very small, scarcely imbricate. Male with a curved series of eight preanal pores. Tail: quadrangular, minutely scaled, the ridges with projecting spinous tubercles. Coloration: brown, lighter inferiorly ; a dark spot on the centre of the nape; a light streak on the side of the head, passing through the eye; some rather indistinct lighter mottlings on the back; a round yellow spot on the hind part of the thigh, close to the root of the tail; latter with darker and lighter annuli. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. endophis

N Oman

H. eniangii

Nigeria, N Cameroon

H. farasani

Farasan Gecko

Saudi Arabia

H. fasciatus

Banded Leaf-Toed Gecko

Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo

TL approx 17 cm; SVL approx 8 cm

H. fasciatus is a dark brown in the daytime, but pales to a light-brown/yellow at night. It is sometimes available. Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and one fourth the diameter of the orbit; forehead concave; ear-opening suboval, oblique, half or three fifths the diameter of the eye. Body and limbs moderate. Digits distinctly webbed at the base, moderately dilated, inner well developed; 6-8 lamellae under the inner digits, and 9-10 under the median ones. Scalation details: snout covered with small convex granules; hinder part of head with minute granules intermixed with small round tubercles; rostral four-sided, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and 3-4 nasals; 9-11 upper and 8-10 lower labials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal; two chin-shields, in contact behind the mental. Upper surface of body covered with small granules intermixed with small round convex tubercles, forming about twenty more or less regular longitudinal series. Abdominal scales rather small, cycloid, imbricate. Males with a long series of femoral pores, interrupted in the middle, composed of 18-20 pores on each side. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with very small, uniform, smooth, imbricate scales, inferiorly with a median series of large transverse plates. Coloration: pale chocolate-brown above; a large U-shaped band from the eyes across the nape, two other cross bars on the back and one on the base of the tail, and complete broad rings round the tail, dark brown, light-edged; lower surfaces dirty white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. faustus

Angola

Described in 2021: see Reptile Database for details.

H. festivus

S Oman, SE Yemen

H. flavicaudus

Mahabubnagar Yellow-Tailed Brookiish Gecko

India

H. flaviviridis

Yellow-Belly Gecko, Northern House Gecko

Egypt to W India, as far south as Ethiopia, Eritrea and Socotra Island

6"?

Sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus.

H. forbesii

Socotra Leaf-Toed Gecko

Socotra, Abd-el-Kuri Island

H. foudaii

Elba Gecko

SE Egypt, NE Sudan, Eritrea

Max TL approx 10.5 cm, max SVL approx 4.5 cm, avg 7-9 cm

Found in semi-desert to dry stony savanna. Description: small-sized species; body slim, moderately depressed; head oval, eyes very large, prominent, ear-opening fairly small and round; limbs short and slim; digits fairly long, moderately dilated, free distal joints of digits fairly short. Scalation details: dorsal scales heterogeneous; small, smooth, rugouse or striated granular scales in 14-16 irregular longitudinal rows of large, strongly keeled, slightly protruding, round or oval-shaped tubercles; subcaudal scales transversely expanded; anterior chin-shields large, in broad contact; males with 8-10 precloacal pores. Coloration: dorsum pinkish or pinkish-brown with darker brown mottline; 8-9 distinct dorsal transverse bands of dark brown tubercles, interspersed by wider bands of whitish tubercles; bands may degenerate into small dark spots posteriorly; tail with around 13 find bands; dark stripe from nostril across eye to above shoulder; bordered above by pale stripe; two additional short parallel dark stripes may be present above shoulder; dark arrow-shaped mark may be present on snout; below, pinkish-white. [SOURCE: Spawls et al]

H. fragilis

Rahanuin Gecko

Somalia, Ethiopia

H. frenatus

Chit-chat (aka Pacific Gecko, House Gecko)

SE Asia, Indian subcontinent inc. Sri Lanka and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Indian Ocean Islands inc. Madagascar, S China, Taiwan, Korea, Okinawa: S. & E. Africa, N. Australia, Mexico, Panama; St Helena

5" (TL 12½ cm, SVL 6 cm)

The occasional availability of this gecko in the trade belies its global distribution through transportation. Originally from SE Asia, the Chit-Chat is now established throughout most of the coastal tropics in the world. Apart from the normal gecko habitats of tropical rainforest and dry scrubland (where they often inhabit hollow trees), these versatile little geckos can be found in human dwellings and especially around rubbish dumps where they prey on the attendant flies. Laurent in Somalia in 1960 noted that all the specimens were caught were only collected in settlements, where they were comon on the walls of buildings and in pole huts of local villages. Daniel and Murthy call this the most common house gecko in South India, where it is often found in the bark of coconut trees. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus: see Walls and Coborn. Description: snout longer than the distance between the eye and the eye opening, once and one third to once and a half the diameter of the orbit; forehead concave; ear-opening small, roundish. Body and limbs moderate. Digits moderately dilated, free, inner with sessile claw; 3-5 lamellae under the inner digits, 7-8 (seldom 9) under the 4^th finger, and 9-10 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: upper surfaces covered with small granules, largest on the snout; on the back these granules are intermixed with more or less numerous, sometimes almost entirely absent, irregularly scattered round convex tubercles always much smaller than the ear-opening; flat smooth dorsal tubercles in 2-8 roughly regular longitudinal rows; throat has small granular scales. Rostral four-sided, nearly twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the 1^st labial, and 3 nasals ; 10-12 upper and 8-10 lower labials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal: 2-3 pairs of chin-shields, the median in contact behind the point of the mental. Abdominal scales moderate, cycloid, imbricate. Tail: rounded, feebly depressed, covered above with very small smooth scales and six longitudinal series of keeled tubercles, inferiorly with a median series of transversely dilated plates. Coloration: overall greyish or pinkish brown; head may sometimes be mottled with brown. Dark streak from nostril passes through eye to flank. Ventrally whitish. Tail may be coral-red during life [Murthy] Reproduction: males have 24-36 preanofemoral pores [SOURCE: Boulenger, Coborn, Daniel, Murthy, SHDA, Walls].

H. funaiolii

Archer's Post Gecko, Kenya Leaf-Toed Gecko

NC Kenya, S Somalia

?"

Another little-known gecko; only preserved specimens known as of 2002.

H. garnotii

Indo-Pacific Gecko

NE India (Darjeeling, Assam, Sikkim), Nepal, Thailand, Burma, Malysian Peninsula, S China (Hong Kong, Guangdong, Hainan, S Yunnan), Philippines, Indonesia (Sumatra, Nias, Borneo, Java), New Caledonia, Polynesia, Fiji, Western Samoa. Introduced into New Zealand, USA (Hawaii, Florida) and the Bahamas.

?"

This species is distinguished by being parthenogenetic, probably an advantage when radiating across the Pacific as it has done. See the Reptile Database entry for comments. Scalation details: rostral subquadrangular, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between rostral and 3 nasals; 12-13 supralabials, 9-10 infralabials; mental large, triangular, in contact posteriorly with a pair of pentagonal chinshields, followed by a second smaller pair; anterior pair of chinshields in contact with 1^st sublabial and with each other medially; posterior pair separated from each other and almost completely or completely from the labials; dorsal surfaces and throat covered with minute granular scales, a little larger on the snout; ventral scales moderate and imbricate. Other: snout obtusely pointed, much longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; forehead slightly concave; ear-opening small and rounded; slight but distinct fold along flanks and another bordering hind limb posteriorly; digits with very slight webbing, moderately dilated, inner well developed; subdigital lamellae oblique, 6-7 on inner digits, 10-12 on 4^th finger, 13-14 on 4^th toe; tail depressed, flat ventrally, with sharp denticulated lateral edge; dorsal caudal scales very small and equal; ventral caudal scales larger and imbricate with median series of large, transversely dilated plates. Coloration: dorsally brownish-grey, uniform with more or less distinct brown and whitish spots; ventrally uniform whitish. Reproduction: according to Bartlett and Bartlett, the motions of courtship may still be necessary to stimulate egg production. [SOURCE: Bartlett & Bartlett, Boulenger (listed as H. peruvianus)]

H. giganteus

Giant Leaf-Toed Gecko

India (Badrachalam /Godavari)

Large but retiring geckos, whose habitats include ruined buildings. Description: Size large. Back with more or less uniform small granules; no enlarged, tubercles; belly with smooth, rounded, imbricate scales; 13-15 lamellae under the fourth toe. Male with 40 preanal-femoral pores. Coloration: greyish dorsal1y and whitish on the undersides. Back with prominent and large W-shaped cross-bars. [SOURCE: Murthy]

H. gleadowi

Gleadow's House Gecko

Pakistan, S India

TL approx 11.5 cm, SVL 6 cm

Description: head oviform; snout longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and one fourth or once and one third the diameter of the orbit; forehead concave; ear-opening oval, oblique, about half the diameter of the eye. Body and limbs moderate. Digits moderately dilated, free, inner well developed; infradigital lamellae with strongly curved anterior border, 4-6 under the inner digits, 6-8 under the median. Scalation details: head covered anteriorly with convex granular, sometimes keeled, scales, posteriorly with minute granules intermixed with round tubercles; rostral subtetragonal, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three or four nasals: eight to ten upper and seven to nine lower labials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal, twice as long as the adjacent labials; chin-shields generally four, the inner largest, in contact behind the mental. Upper surfaces with minute granular scales intermixed with moderate-sized trihedral strongly-keeled tubercles, the largest not measuring more than one third the diameter of the eye; they form 16-20 pretty regular longitudinal series on the back. Abdominal scales smooth, roundish, imbricate. Males with a series of femoral pores generally interrupted in the middle; altogether 16-24 pores. Tail: rounded, tapering, depressed, above with small smooth scales and 6 or 8 longitudinal series of large, pointed, strongly keeled tubercles, inferiorly with a median series of transversely dilated plates. Coloration: brownish above, spotted with darker; a dark streak on the side of the head, passing through the eye; lower surfaces dirty white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. gracilis

Graceful Leaf-Toed Gecko

India (including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andra Pradesh)

SVL 36 mm

Usually found on rocky ground, far from human dwellings [Murthy]. Description: head narrow, elongate; snout a little longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and one third or once and two fifths the diameter of the orbit; forehead not concave; ear opening small, roundish. Body and limbs slender, feebly depressed. Digits free, very feebly dilated, inner well developed; the distal joint short; five lamellae under the inner digits, seven under the fourth finger, and nine under the fourth toe. Scalation details: snout with rather large polygonal rugose scales; hinder part of head with small granules. Rostral four-sided, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral and 4 nasals; 9 upper and 7 lower labials; mental large, triangular, more than twice as long as the adjacent labials; four large chin-shields, inner pair in contact behind the point of the mental. Body covered above with coarse granules intermixed with oval, subtrihedral, strongly keeled tubercles arranged in about 12 irregular longitudinal series. Abdominal scales large, cycloid, imbricate, smooth. Male with 6 preanal pores forming an angular series. Tail: round, but slightly depressed at the base, and not at all further back, tapering, without any enlarged or spinose tubercles whatever. Coloration: grey above, with subquadrangular black spots arranged in longitudinal series, confluent into lines on the rachis and sides; a black, above white-edged streak on the side of the head, passing through the eye; whitish beneath, specimen a with longitudinal grey lines. [SOURCE: Boulenger, Murthy]

H. gramineus

Grass-Dwelling Tropical Gecko

Democratic Republic of Congo

H. granchii

Granchi's Leaf-Toed Gecko

EC Somalia

H. graniticolus

India

H. granosus

West Arabian Half-Toed Gecko, Heyden’s Gecko

Egypt, Israel, SW Jordan, Saudi Arabia

SVL approx 4-5.5 cm

Description: small size; head rather elongated; 7–8 lamellae under the 1^st toe and 10–13 under the 4^th toe; Scalation details: uppermost nasals usually separated by a small shield; large anterior postmentals in wide mutual contact, and always in contact with the 1^st and 2^nd sublabials; 9–11 supralabials, 7–9 sublabials; 14–15 longitudinal rows of enlarged, subtriangular, distinctly keeled dorsal tubercles; approx. 6–8 tail segments bearing 6 pointed tubercles; 4–7 preanal pores in males forming a continuous row on the left and right side; subcaudals enlarged; Coloration: dorsum pale buff with dark brown spots tending to form transverse bands or X-shaped markings; dark horizontal stripe in prefrontal and temporal region; tail with ca. 10–13 dark brown transverse bands, venter white. [SOURCE: Šmíd et al]

H. granti

Grant's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island)

H. greefii

Greef’s Giant Gecko

Sao Thomé

A very distinct species, characterised by the absence of clawed phalanx to the first finger, and by the pointed tubercles forming a regular serration along each side of the body and tail. [SOURCE: Boulenger 1906]

H. gubanensis

Guban Gecko

Somaliland

SVL approx 4-5.5 cm (m), 3.5-5 cm (f)

Description: a small species. Head large and robust; rather long free distal phalanges of digits; 5–6 lamellae under the 1^st finger, 7–8 lamellae under the 4^th finger, 5–6 lamellae under the 1^st toe, and 8–11 lamellae under the 4^th toe; relatively short tail. Scalation details: uppermost nasals in broad contact; large anterior postmentals usually in wide contact or more rarely in one point; large anterior postmentals usually in contact with the 1^st and 2^nd sublabials, rarely with the first sublabial; 7–10 supralabials, 6–8 sublabials; dorsum with 14–16 rows of enlarged, strongly keeled, conical tubercles; other dorsal scales smooth, juxtaposed, and rather homogeneous; 3–6 (counted longitudinally) and 2–3 (transversely) small smooth dorsal scales between dorsal tubercles; 22–27 tail segments; 2–4 rows of small scales between tail tubercles of two adjacent tail segments; subcaudals enlarged; 4–7 precloacal pores in males; presence of lateral post-anal tubercles. Coloration: body colour light beige-brownish with irregular and indistinct dark mottling, some tubercles whitish and some dark; tail with similar colouration and pattern like body or with very slightly marked light and dark irregular bands. [SOURCE:

H. guineensis

Brook’s House Gecko, Spotted House Gecko

W Africa (S Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Central African Republic)

H. gujaratensis

Gujarat Gecko

India (Gujarat)

Described in 2009: see Reptile Database entry.

H. haitianus

Antillean House Gecko

Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico

No longer currently considered a valid species by the Reptile Database. Formerly considered a subspecies of H. brooksi, and more recently synonymised with H. angulatus, but see Comment section in Reptile Database entry.

H. hajarensis

N Oman

First described in 2012: see Reptile Database entry.

H. hegdei

India

H. hemchandrai

India

First described in 2015: see Reptile Database entry.

H. homoeolepis

Arabian Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island), Oman

TL 77 mm: SVL 37 mm

Digits quite free. Back with uniform flat subimbricate scales. Description: Snout longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and one third the diameter of the orbit; forehead scarcely concave; ear-opening small, oval, oblique. Body and limbs moderate. Digits moderately dilated, free, with rather short distal joints; six lamellae under the thumb, eight under the fourth finger, five under the inner toe, and nine or ten under the fourth toe. Head covered with small convex granules, largest on the snout ; rostral subquadrangular, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three nasals; nine upper and seven lower labials; mental large, triangular, more than twice as long as the adjacent labials; four chin-shields, median pair largest and in contact behind the mental. Back covered with flat, subimbricate, smooth round scales, largest on the sides. Abdominal scales small, cycloid, imbricate, scarcely larger than the dorsals. Male with four preanal pores. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with uniform small, smooth, subimbricate, flat scales, inferiorly with a median series of transversely dilated plates, commencing some distance behind the vent. Coloration: grey above, spotted with darker; a dark streak passing through the eye; tail with black annuli; lower surfaces dirty white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. huluul

Huluul Gecko

Somaliland

SVL approx 4-6 cm (m), 4.5-7.5 cm (f)

Description: medium to large size species; head robust, short and high; relatively long tail. Scalation details: uppermost nasals frequently in broad contact, less frequently in a narrow or no contact; 1^st supralabial in broad contact with nostril; large anterior postmentals in a wide contact; anterior postmentals usually in contact with only the first sublabials; 11–12 supralabials, 7–9 infralabials (rarely 9 only, otherwise 7–8); dorsum with 14–16 rows (sometimes 16, otherwise 14) of large, prominent, trihedral, strongly keeled, round tubercles; other dorsal scales smooth (or less usually with a feeble keel),subimbricate, homogeneous; 4–6 (mostly 5, counted longitudinally) and 2–3 (mostly 3, transversely) small dorsal scales between dorsal tubercles; 22–26 tail segments; 4–5 rows of small scales between tail tubercles of two adjacent tail segments; subcaudals enlarged; moderately long free distal phalanges of digits (relative length of free distal phalanges and proximal parts with lamellae on the 3rd toes 0.21–0.42, mean 0.33 ± 0.06 mm);(17) 8 lamellae under the 1st finger, 9–10 lamellae underthe 4th finger, 7–8 lamellae under the 1st toe, and 9–11lamellae under the 4th toe; (18) 10–14 precloacal pores inmales; (19) presence of small lateral postanal tubercles;(20) in life, body colour beige-brownish to grey with fourirregular X-shaped markings across the body, additionalsimilar marking in the pelvic area or the base of tail. Brownstripe from nostril to anterior margin of eye continues fromposterior eye margin to above the ear, then interruptedto continue above the shoulder, additional stripe from theupper posterior eye margin runs in temporo-parietal region,U-shaped or curved crossbar on the nape visible in adultspecimens. Tail banded with five to eight broad bands,the black and white bands become more prominent downthe tail end (when original). Body pinkish-white ventrally,posterior half of tail with four to six blackish bands ventrally(Figure 9a,b)

H. hunae

Spotted Giant Gecko

Sri Lanka

H. imbricatus

Carrot-tail Viper Gecko

W Pakistan, India

Formerly assigned to Teratolepis fasciatus: see Reptile Database entry for discussion.

H. inexpectatus

Oman

H. inintellectus

Socotran Rock Gecko

Yemen (Socotra Island)

H. isolepis

Uniform-Scaled Gecko, Scaly Leaf-Toed Gecko

N Kenya, N & SW Somalia: poss. SE Sudan; Ethiopia

SVL 4cm, TL 8cm

The EMBL bibliography does not include SHDA, from where these details were mostly taken. The species is found mainly in rocky areas and may be more terrestrial than other members of the genus: diet is mainly terrestrial arthropods, and it is preyed on in turn by terrestrial snakes. Scalation is also rather different from that of most other East African geckos [SHDA]. Description: snout equal to or slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; Scalation details: granular scales on the snout convex, larger than those on the vertex; lacks enlarged tubercles on the dorsum and body; scales are roughly equal size and overlap; nostril bordered by the rostral and 3-4 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; supralabials 7-8; sublabials 5-7; pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line; outer but smaller pair of chin shields present or absent; 59-81 scales at midbody. 5-7 subdigital lamellae on 1st toe, 6-10 on 4th. Males have 4-8 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series; both sexes lack femoral pores. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, imbricate scales of which the media scales are slightly enlarged. Coloration: overall light brown to pinkish; 2 dorsal rows of brown transverse markings often present. Supralabials white. Conspicuous dark line runs from snout to insertion of forelimbs. Ventral surfaces white. Reproduction: males have 4-8 preanal pores in an unbroken row. Females lay a pair of eggs laid under rock. [SOURCE: Loveridge, SHDA]

H. ituriensis

Ituri Leaf-Toed Gecko

NE Democratic Republic of the Congo

TL approx 13-5 – 16.5 cm

Description: differs from H. fasciatus, of which it was once considered a subspecies, principally in the following details: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, the claws scarcely extending beyond the digital expansion, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 9-11 under the 1^st toe, 11-13 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; 9-11 supralabials; 7-9 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact or separated on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with small, uniform granules; ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate, about 16-22 longitudinal series at mid-body corresponding to a distance equal to the diameter of the eye; limbs without any strikingly large tubercles posteriorly; males with approx 8 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, imbricate scales; below with smooth, larger imbricate scales. Coloration: above, pale brown; anterior border of eye white; black spot below, and a dark streak behind, eye; back closely and uniformly dappled with small circular white dots; 4 broad, indefinite, dusky crossbars on body, another across base of tail; 6 narrow, white, crossbars on tail; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. jubensis

Ethiopian Gecko, Mrioen Leaf-Toed Gecko

Ethiopia, N Somalia

H. jumailiae

Yemen

Described in 2011: see Reptile Database entry.

H. kalinga

Kalinga Rock Gecko

India

H. kamdemtohami

Kamdem Toham's Gecko

Gabon, Equatorial New Guinea

SVL >7 cm

Description: moderately sized species; 11 enlarged scansors beneath 4^th toe of pes, digits with pronounced basal webs. Scalation details: one pair of enlarged postmentals, narrowly separated from one another; 18-19 rows of relatively small tubercles; 63 scale rows across venter between ventrolateral folds. Coloration: body grey; paler, broad vertebral stripe, a pair of darker paravertebral stripes and a pair of diffuse, darker ventrolateral stripes. [SOURCE: Bauer and Pauwels]

H. kangerensis

India

SVL ≥ 9.5 cm

Description: a large-sized species; lamellae divided, covering 80% of the digit. Scalation details: dorsal scalation on the trunk, granular, intermixed with enlarged, fairly regularly arranged, longitudinal rows of 18–20 strongly keeled, trihedral, tubercles of equal size of dorso-lateral aspect; two pairs of postmentals, inner pair twice as long and wide as the outer pair; scales on trunk venter arranged in 28–30 rows. Dorsal caudal scales small, juxtaposed, intermixed with large strongly keeled trihedral tubercles, eight or six in number on each segment of the tail, scales sub-equal throughout the original tail. Femoral pores 18–21 on each side separated medially by four non-pored scales. Three subconical post-cloacal spurs, anterior spur larger than the preceding spurs; posterior spur smallest more rounded. Coloration: background colouration a shade of light brown; four distinct dark brown bands, each edged with black on anterior and posterior sides, present between nape and caudal constriction; a further band on the caudal constriction is slightly diffused and lacks defined edges; similar bands present on original part of tail; tubercles on dorsum with black tips; supraciliaries and scales on canthus rostralis yellowish; scales in a row posterior to the orbit appear as a yellow strip from the nares to the temporal region; limbs shade of light brown, with slightly darker tubercles; ventrally white. [SOURCE: Mirza et al 2017]

H. karenorum

Burmese Leaf-Toed Gecko

Burma, NE India

H. kimbulae

Sri Lanka

Described in 2021: see Reptile Database entry.

H. klauberi

Klauber’s Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia

H. kolliensis

Kolli Rock Gecko

India

Described in 2019: see Reptile Database entry.

H. kundaensis

Kunda Half-Toed Gecko

Guinea

Max SVL 5.5 cm, max TL 11 cm

Savanna species, discovered in foothills. It may be found in areas of herbaceous and shrubby vegetation alternating with woody savanna, in wooded areas and also sometimes on the walls of buildings. It is both nocturnal and active during the day. Description: snout elongated; fingers broadened at their base, distal parts narrow and tapered; pupil vertical. Scalation details: head and body covered in small granules. Small tubercles present on the back, the distance separating them being greater than their diameter; single internasal granule; median subcaudal scales broadened and subhexagonal in shape; males with 10-12 preanal-femoral pores; tubercles present on tail. Coloration: dorsally grey-brown with seven dark transverse wavy bands on the dorsum and a dozen on the tail. [SOURCE: Trape et al]

H. kushmorensis

Kushmore House Gecko

Pakistan

4-4¼”

Description: head rather depressed. Pupil vertical. 7 lamellae under the middle toe. Middle toe with six pairs of plates and an odd one at each end. Claw on thumb well developed. Scalation details: crown of the head interspersed with numerous round tubercles; muzzle covered with granular scales; rostral grooved above, slightly wider than high; nostril between the rostral, the first labial, and three small nasals, about equal in size to those covering the muzzle; 10 supralabials, 8 sublabials; two pairs of chin-shields, the first only in contact. Scales on the throat about one third the size of those on the abdomen, across the middle of which they are arranged in 32-36 longitudinal series; the anterior half irregularly and minutely 1-3 crenulate, less conspicuous on the posterior half. Back with rounded tubercles arranged in 22 longitudinal series; a few tubercles between the hind legs are subtrihedral; 10-12 femoral pores on each side; fore and hind limbs on their upper surface studded with round tubercles. Under surface of tarsi covered with large imbricate scales. Subcaudals single, 44-46. Toes covered with imbricate scales. Tail: verticillate, each verticil armed laterally with three rows of rather elongate subtrihedral tubercles, except on its posterior third, where they are replaced by imbricate scales; inferiorly with a single series of transverse plates. Coloration: neutral grey or brown, with three rows of squarish dark blotches; forming either longitudinal or obliquely transverse interrupted bands; a few smaller spots on the sides; a dark streak through the eye with a pale line above it. Scales on the under surface of the body freckled with 1-3 dark spots; many, especially on forward part of body, without them. Tail with 14-15 dark cross bands. [SOURCES: Boulenger, Murray]

H. kyaboboensis

Ghana

H. laevis

Common Leaf-Toed Gecko, Somaliland Mountain Gecko

Somalia

TL approx 6 cm

Description: snout as long as the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, with rather short distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 4 under the 1^st toe, 7-8 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals; 9 supralabials; 7 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals separated on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with small, uniform granules, ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate. Coloration: above, browwnish; dark streak from nostril passes through eye; light-edged dark brown crossbar on base of tail; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. lamaensis

Benin

H. lankae

Sri Lanka Leaf-Toed Gecko

Sri Lanka

H. lanzai

Lanza’s Gecko

Ethiopia

H. laticaudatus

Andersson's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Ethiopia, Eritrea

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, with rather short distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 3 under the 1^st toe, 4-5 under the median toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3-4 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; 7-8 supralabials; 6-7 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with rather larger uniform granules; ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate, about 16-22 longitudinal series at midbody corresponding to a distance equal to the diameter of the eye; limbs without any strikingly large tubercles posteriorly; males with 2 preanal pores series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, uniform scales; below with smooth, imbricate scales of which the median series are transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, light brown; a dark streak from nostril passes through eye, and may be continued as far as the base of the tail; upper lip white; back with 5-6 dark cross bands on body, another across base of tail; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge] [needs working]

H. l. laticaudatus

H. l. fossatii

H. lavadeserticus

Syrian House Gecko

Syria, N Jordan

H. lemurinus

Dhofar Leaf-Toed Gecko

Oman

H. leschinaultii

Leschinault's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Oman, Pakistan, S India, Sri Lanka

16cm

Closely resembles H. flaviviridis. In parts of India it is a common house gecko and also frequents avenue trees. Scalation details: head dorsally covered with minute granules posteriorly and large ones anteriorly; rostral rectangular, not quite twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, 3 nasals and generally the 1^st labial; 10-12 supralabials, 8-9 infralabials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal; 2 pairs of chinshields, of which inner largest and in contact behind mental; dorsal surface of body covered with small granules, uniform or intermixed with more or less scattered round tubercles; ventral scales moderate, cycloid and imbricate. Coloration: overall dark grey with wavy dorsal bands; dark band from eye to shoulder; ventrally white. Other: snout longer than distance between eye and ear-opening; forehead concave, supraorbital ridges prominent in full-grown specimens; ear-opening rather large, oval, vertical; body and limbs moderate; slight fold of skin laterally from axilla to groin; digits free, strongly dilated, inner well developed; 6-7 subdigital lamellae on 4th toe; 9-11 under media digits; males have 12-16 femoral pores on each side; tail depressed, flat below, covered dorsally with small smooth scales and 6 longitudinal series of conical tubercles, below with median row of transversely dilated plates. Reproduction: breeding takes place in India April-July. A single female may lay several clutches. Incubation takes approximately 32 days [SOURCE: Boulenger, Daniel]. 

H. longicephalus

Long-Headed Tropical House Gecko

Angola, Cameroon, Lake Tanganyika, N Namibia

4-5"?

? 

H. lopezjuradoi

Cape Verde Is. (Fogo)

H. luqueorum

N Oman

Avg SVL 76.8 mm, max 88 mm

Mainly found on rocky sides of wadis and on buildings and occasionally on gravely wadi floors: can be locally abundant inside large caves. Mainly nocturnal. A large-sized Hemidactylus. Description: head and body markedly depressed; head broad, especially posteriorly and neck well defined. Adhesive pads broad; in adults maximum width of pad on fourth hind toe more than half its length.with 13–15 longitudinal rows of enlarged dorsal tubercles at mid-body; adhesive pads broad, in adults maximum width of pad on 4^th toe of the pes more than half its length; 10-11 lamellae under the 1st toe of pes; 13-14 lamellae under the 4th toe of pes; 5-6 preanal pores; expanded subcaudal scales extending proximally as far as the second whorl after the vent and starting just after the hemipenial bulge in males. Coloration: dorsum grey–buff with irregular small spots; a dark stripe from the nostril, through the eye, on to cheek above ear and often on to neck; tail with small irregular dark blotches basally and numerous transverse dark bands more distally, the total number being around 17. Underside of tail pale but large subcaudals suffused with grey formed by dark chromatophores that increase in intensity distally; underside of toe pads also grey. Hemidactylus luqueorum is generally similar to H. persicus in number of its moderately-sized dorsal tubercles across mid-body, and large adhesive pads on toes but differs from it in its much larger size, and presence of more lamellae under the 1^st toe of pes (10–11, compared with 8–9). Scalation details: nostril between rostral, supranasal and two superposed postnasals, with the first supralabial scale usually also entering narrowly into its border. One, occasionally 2 scales separating supranasals on midline. About 14–19 scales in a straight line from postnasal to edge of orbit. Small conical tubercles scattered in orbital area, crown of head and temporal area above the level of ear opening and immediately in front of the upper part of this. Ear opening with its longest axis running upwards and backwards, smooth-edged, usually half or more of eye diameter. 10–14 supralabial scales, 8–10 infralabials. Mental scale broadly triangular posteriorly bordered by two large postmentals making contact behind it, a second pair of more lateral postmentals also present, all four with a smooth transverse posterior border, the postmentals contacting the first and second supralabials; second and more posterior infralabials bordered by more irregular and smaller enlarged scales. Gulars fine. Enlarged tubercles present on back, arranged in 13–15 longitudinal rows at mid-body, which also form backwardly directed oblique rows from near midline to flank, 12–16 across mid-body, and 16–18 in a paravertebral row from the level of the axilla to that of the groin, where they are separated by spaces of about their own length. Enlarged tubercles keeled and trihedral but becoming smaller and more pointed on flanks. Ventrals small, but larger than dorsals and more imbricate, about 48–50 in a transverse row at mid body between lateral folds. Males with 5–6 preanal pores separated by 1-2 scales giving a formula of 2+3, 3+2 or 3+3. Scales on upper forelimb small and imbricate, interspersed with enlarged tubercles on distal section. Scales on front of thigh and beneath about same size as belly scales and imbricate, rather larger under tibia, enlarged tubercles present on upper surface of both femur and tibia and also on posterior edge of foot. Lamellae under the toes of pes: 1^st toe 10–11; 4^th toe 13–14. Tail: relatively slender, although sometimes thickened proximally; six enlarged, keeled and pointed tubercles on each whorl proximally, dropping to four around whorl 8 or 10. Tubercles about one third the length of basal whorls, becoming smaller and placed more posteriorly on whorls distally. About 10–11 small scales in longitudinal row on fourth whorl after vent, around seven small scales between tubercles on fourth and fifth whorls. Subcaudal scales enlarged and broad, extending proximally as far as the second whorl after the vent and starting just after the hemipenial bulge in males. Coloration: in spirit pale grey-buff; a dark stripe from the nostril, through the eye, on to cheek above ear and often on to neck; body with irregular small spots; some tubercles on forebody and vertebral area have opaque white coloring on one side and dark coloring on the other. Belly pale but there may be a slight stipple at the sides, the dark punctate spots being smaller than the scales. Tail with small irregular dark blotches basally and numerous transverse dark bands more distally, initially on every other whorl and then on each one, the total number being around 17. Underside of tail pale but large subcaudals suffused with grey formed by dark chromatophores that increase in intensity distally. Underside of toe pads also grey. [SOURCE: Carranza & Arnold]

H. mabouia

(Moreau's) Tropical House Gecko

S & E. Africa: C. & S. America, Antilles, US (Florida)

SVL 7cm, TL 15cm

H. mabouia is one of the great colonisers of the genus: originating in C. and S. Africa, specimens found their way to the coast of Brazil and worked their way inland via the river system. In the wild, up to 50 eggs of this species have been uncovered in one spot, as several females seem to use the same place to lay their eggs. Laurent wrote that the specimens he helped to collect from Somalia were almost all taken from the trunks of large trees and that some were observed at heights of over 10m: however, none ventured onto smaller branches. Interestingly some cohabited the trees with Mabuya s. striata and M. planifrons, and in one place with a large Varanus. SHDA note that large populations may occur in East African houses and that some may leave the building to forage outside on trees and in bushes. Furthermore it may be active by day in darkened areas, eg latrines. It is sometimes available as a pet. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus. Details: dorsal and lateral scalation granular; 12-18 transverse rows of weakly keeled tubercles. 5-6 subdigital lamellae under 1st toe, 6-11 beneath 4th toe. Coloration: overall grey, light brown or brown, which may appear tan or pinkish beneath electric light at night [SHDA]. 5 wavy dorsal transverse bands, 10 darker and sharper bands on tail. Reproduction: males have 22-40 preanal and femoral pores in a continuous row [SOURCE: Laurent, SHDA].

H. macropholis

Boulenger's Gecko

Kenya, Somalia, N & E Ethiopia: poss. N Tanzania

H. maculatus

Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko, Rock Gecko

India (Gujarat southwards), Sri Lanka

27cm

Mostly associated with rock formations and caves, but may sometimes be found on buildings and trees. In addition to insects, may prey on other geckos. Details: 9-10 subdigital lamellae on 1st toe, 11-13 on 4th. Coloration: grey-brown overall with dark spots and longitudinal-pointing bands that are more prominent in young individuals; tail is banded (see picture in Daniel).

H. m. maculatus

H. m. hunae

H. mahonyi

India

H. makolowodei

Cameroon

H. malcolmsmithi

Smith’s Bent-Toed Gecko

India

H. mandebensis

Yemen

H. masirahensis

Oman

H. matschiei

Togo Leaf-Toed Gecko

Togo, Nigeria

TL approx 5.5 cm

Description: similar to H. modestus; snout not quite twice as long as the eye; subdigital lamellae beneath 1^st to 5^th fingers respectively 5, 6-7, 7, 6, 7, and beneath 1^st to 5^th toes 5 (2^nd and 3^rd divided), 7 (2^nd and 4^th divided), 7 (2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th divided), 7 (2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th divided), 5 (2^nd divided). Scalation details: nostril bordered posteriorly by 3-4 granules; 6-7 supralabials; 5 sublabials. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. megalops

Parker's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia

TL approx 6.5 cm

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, the claws scarcely extending beyond the digital expansion, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 5 under the 1^st toe, 8-9 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; 9-11 supralabials; 7-9 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact or separated on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with small, uniform granules; ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate, about 16-22 longitudinal series at midbody corresponding to a distance equal to the diameter of the eye; limbs without any strikingly large tubercles posteriorly; males with 2 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, imbricate scales; below with smooth, larger imbricate scales. Coloration: above, pale brown; anterior border of eye white; black spot below, and a dark streak behind, eye; back closely and uniformly dappled with small circular white dots; 4 broad, indefinite, dusky crossbars on body, another across base of tail; 6 narrow, white, crossbars on tail; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. mercatorius

Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Dar-es-Salaam Island, Malawi, Ascension Island

H. mindiae

Mount Sinai Gecko

Egypt, Jordan

H. minutus

NE Oman to E Yemen

H. modestus

Moderate Leaf-Toed Gecko, Tana River Gecko

Kenya

TL approx 8 cm

Loveridge described this species as being found under piles of rubbish and rotting vegetation. Description: snout equal to or slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, slightly dilated, with rather long distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors of which only 1-2 on each toe are slightly divided, 3-6 under the 1^st toe, 6-10 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: scales on the snout flat or only slightly convex, smooth or indistinctly keeled, larger than those on the vertex, among which are scattered larger, rounded, flat or slightly convex, smooth tubercles; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with the others or rarely separated by a single granule; 7-8 supralabials; 5-7 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact with the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back and belly covered with uniform smooth, rounded, imbricate scales, subequal on back and belly, about 80-100 encircling midbody; scaling on limbs anteriorly as on back but posteriorly with minute scales among which are large, smooth, subconical tubercles; males with 10-18 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, imbricate scales larger than those on body; below with smooth, imbricate scales of which the median series are transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, uniformly brown; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge, SHDA]

H. montanus

Mountain Leaf-Toed Gecko

Yemen

H. mrimaensis

Kaya Gecko

Kenya

H. multisulcatus

India

Described in 2023: see Reptile Database entry.

H. muriceus

Guinea Leaf-Toed Gecko

Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Dem. Rep. Congo, Congo, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon

TL approx 8.5 cm, SVL approx 4 cm

See notes on distribution and possible confusion with H. intestinalis (Nigerian Leaf-Toed Gecko) in the Reptile Database entry. Scalation details: numerous small pointed conical tubercles irregularly scattered among the fine dorsal granulation. Tail with similar longer tubercles. Snout with larger convex scales, 8-9 infralabials. A larger chin-shield, followed by smaller ones, on each side behind the pointed mental. Ear-opening .almost vertical, rather narrow. Chin and throat finely granulate. Ventral scales in the middle in thirty-three longitudinal rows; on each side a feeble longitudinal fold on which the lower tubercles are inserted. Coloration: grey-brown, with narrow M- or V-shaped dark irregular transverse bands; similar cross bands on the tail and limbs. Lower surfaces lighter with small darker dots, more numerous and confluent on the chin. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. murrayi

Murray’s House Gecko

W India, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo

H. newtoni

Newton's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Equatorial Guinea (Annobon Island)

H. nicolauensis

Cape Verde Islands

H. nzingae

Angola

H. ophiolepis

Snake-Scaled Leaf-Toed Gecko

Ethiopia, N Somalia

TL approx 9.5 cm, SVL approx 4.5 cm

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, slightly dilated, with rather short distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 4 under the 1^st toe, 9 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granular scales on the snout flat, larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with the others; 7 supralabials; 6 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact with the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back and belly covered with uniform smooth, rounded, imbricate scales, largest on the back, about 50 encircling midbody; limbs without any strikingly large tubercles posteriorly; males with 8-22 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, imbricate scales larger than those on body; below with smooth, imbricate scales of which the median series are transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, pale grey-brown above; dark brown streak from nostril passes through eye; back with small dark brown spots and interrupted transverse whitish lines; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. ophiolepoides

Lanza's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Ethiopia, N Somalia

H. oxyrhinus

Sharpnose Leaf-Toed Gecko

Yemen (Abd-el-Kuri Island in Socotra archipelago)

TL approx 9.5 cm

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 6-7 under the 1^st toe, 11-12 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the head convex, “increasing in size posteriorly”; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals; 8-10 supralabials; 7-8 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with rather large, subequal, obtusely keeled, juxtaposed granules; ventral scales much smaller, smooth, rounded, imbricate; males with 2 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with uniform small, smooth scales; below with smooth, imbricate scales, of which the median series is transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, pale buff or greyish brown; dark streak from nostril passes through eye; nape and back with 4, more or less distinct, dark wavy crossbars, others forming annuli on the tail which, in the young, are separated by white interspaces; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. paaragowli

India

Described in 2018: see Reptile Database entry.

H. paivae

Paiva’s Gecko

Angola

H. pakkamalaiensis

Pakkamalai Rock Gecko

India

Described in 2023: see Reptile Database entry.

H. palaichthus

Antilles Leaf-Toed Gecko

Guyana, Venezuela, Surinam, Trinidad, St Lucia, Brazil, Tobago, poss. Colombia

H. parvimaculatus

Spotted House Gecko

SE India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Maldives, Rodrigues, Comoro Is, Mascarene Is; USA (introduced: Louisiana and New Orleans)

H. paucifasciatus

Few-Banded Termite Hill Gecko

India

H. pauciporosus

Somalia

Formerly considered a subspecies of H. yerburyi. See also notes in Reptile Database entry.

H. paucituberculatus

S Oman

H. persicus

Persian Leaf-Toed Gecko

S Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, N Oman, Bahrain, Pakistan, N India

TL approx 15 cm, SVL approx 7 cm

Description: Snout rather acuminate, as long as the distance between the eye and the upper border of the ear-opening, once and one third the diameter of the orbit ; forehead concave; interorbital space very narrow; upper eyelid strongly fringed; ear-opening large, obliquely crescentic, the concavity being directed forwards and upwards, its diameter equalling three fourths that of the eye. Body and limbs moderate. Digits free, moderately dilated, inner well developed; infradigital lamellae obliquely curved; 10 lamellae under the thumb, 10 under the 3^rd finger, 9 under the inner toe, and 12 under the 3^rd toe. Scalation details: snout covered with large convex granular scales, largest between the eye and the nostril ; hinder part of head with minute granules, and scattered ones of a larger size. Rostral four times as broad as high (having fused with the anterior labial on each side); nostril above the rostral, between the latter and three nasals; 10-11 upper and 9 lower labials; mental large, triangular, twice as long as the adjacent labial, its point between two large chin-shields which are in contact behind it; a small chin-shield on each side of the large pair. Upper surface of body covered with small irregular flat granules and moderately large, trihedral, strongly keeled tubercles arranged in 14 or 16 rather irregular longitudinal series; the largest tubercles measure about one fourth the diameter of the eye. Abdominal scales small, smooth, rounded, imbricate. Male with a short angular series of eight preanal pores. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, irregular, imbricate smooth scales and scattered pointed tubercles forming 4 or 6 longitudinal series, inferiorly with a series of transversely dilated plates. Coloration: Boulenger quotes one Dr Anderson as describing the colour as "pale yellowish brown, with six faint brownish transverse narrow dorsal bands, the tubercles in these areas being almost black; a dark brown streak from the nostrils through the eye above the ear, with a whitish line above it; lips whitish." [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. platycephalus

Tree Gecko, Flathead Leaf-Toed Gecko

E Kenya, E Tanzania; Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Islands; S Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, E Zambia, E Zimbabwe: Comoro Islands

18cm

H. porbandarensis

? Leaf-Toed Gecko

India

H. prashadi

Bombay Leaf-Toed Gecko

India (Bombay)

SVL 82 mm, TL 179 mm

Scalation details: body covered with small granular scales intermixed with much larger subtrihedral tubercles. Upper labials 11-12; lower labials 9-11. Fourth toe with ten subdigital lamellae. Male with 17-20 preano-femoral pores separated by three scales. Coloration: brownish grey above with three faint cross-bars on the back. [SOURCE: Murthy]

H. puccioni

Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia, Tanzania, Zanzibar

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 6-7 under the 1^st toe, 11-12 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex, among which are scattered small rounded tubercles; nostril bordered by the rostral, 1^st supralabial, and 3 small nasals, the uppermost separated from its fellow by a single granule; 9 supralabials; 7-9 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with rather large, subequal, obtusely keeled, juxtaposed granules; ventral scales much smaller, smooth, rounded, imbricate; males with 2 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with uniform small, smooth scales; below with smooth, imbricate scales, of which the median series is transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, pale buff or greyish brown; dark streak from nostril passes through eye; nape and back with 4, more or less distinct, dark wavy crossbars, others forming annuli on the tail which, in the young, are separated by white interspaces; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. pumilio

Pygmy Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island)

TL approx 5.5 cm

Found under boulders and stones in or near dry ravines. Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, with very short distal joints, inner with sessile claw, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 4 under the 1^st toe, 7-8 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex, among which are scattered small round tubercles; nostril bordered by the rostral and 4 small nasals, the uppermost separated by a single granule; 8-9 supralabials; 6-8 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back covered with small granules, among which are scattered feebly keeled tubercles forming more or less irregular longitudinal rows; ventral scales smooth, rounded, imbricate; males with 5-6 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. Tail: cylindrical, covered above with small, smooth scales and 4 rows of pointed tubercles; below with imbricate scales, of which the median series is not transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, pale brown or buff; dark brown streak from nostril passes through eye; back uniform or spotted with brown; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. reticulatus

Reticulate Leaf-Toed Gecko

S India (including Madurai and Shevaroys, Tamil Nadu, Palnis, Western Ghats, Palkonda Hills and Nallamalas, Andhra, and Karnataka)

SVL 4 cm, TL 8 cm

Found far away from houses [Murthy, who also suggests that this is a hill species]. Description: head short, oviform, very convex ; snout a little longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening and than the diameter of the orbit; forehead not concave; ear-opening small, roundish. Body and limbs short. Digits short, free, with very short distal joint, moderately dilated; five or six lamellae under the inner digits, seven or eight under the fourth finger, and eight or nine under the fourth toe. Scalation details: snout covered with keeled granules; the rest of the head with smaller granules intermixed with round tubercles. Rostral four-sided, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three or four nasals; nine or ten upper and seven to nine lower labials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal ; four chin-shields, inner pair largest and in contact behind the point of the mental. Body covered above with coarse granules intermixed with numerous irregularly arranged, small, round, keeled tubercles. Abdominal scales rather small, cycloid, imbricate, smooth. Male with six to nine preanal pores forming an angular series. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small granular scales and rings of six or eight large conical tubercles, inferiorly with uniform small imbricated scales. Coloration: brown above, with a network of darker lines; many of the tubercles whitish ; lower surfaces whitish, the throat sometimes vermiculated with brown. [SOURCE: Boulenger, Murthy]

H. richardsoni

Richardson's Forest Gecko

W Uganda, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo

16cm

H. robustus

Somali Plain Gecko

NE Kenya, Somalia, Red Sea Coast, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

H. ruspolii

Prince Ruspoli's Gecko, Farm Leaf-Toed Gecko

Kenya, E Ethiopia, Somalia

9cm

Laurent relates finding one under a log in Somalia which was subsequently attacked by an ant colony also disturbed at the same time from the other end of the log: the lizard dropped its tail and escaped. 

H. scabriceps

Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko

India, Sri Lanka

H. sinaitus

Sinai Leaf-Toed Gecko

Sinai Desert, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, N Somalia, Yemen

TL 83 mm, SVL 39 mm

Known for a few decades as H. shugraensis: see EMBL database listing. To be distinguished from IT. turcicus by the following characters : digits very short and with fewer lamellae, viz. five under the inner digits, seven under the fourth finger, and eight under the fourth toe. Rostral not entering the nostril. No enlarged subcaudals. Nine upper and eight lower labials. Dorsal tubercles in fourteen longitudinal series. Four preanal pores. Grey-brown above, most of the dorsal tubercles white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. smithi

Smith's Leaf-Toed Gecko

N Somalia, Ethiopia

Tail is conical and lacks basal constriction. Scalation: dorsally granular with scattered smooth conical tubercles. Other: scansors extend onto sole of foot.

H. somalicus

Northern Somali Plain Gecko

N Somalia, Ethiopia

TL approx 8.5 cm

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, slightly dilated, the claws extending well beyond the digital expansion; inferiorly with oblique scansors, 5-6 under the 1^st toe, 9-10 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: granules on the snout larger than those on the vertex; nostril bordered by the rostral and 3 small nasals, the uppermost in contact its fellow; 8-11 supralabials; 7-9 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact or separated on the median line, an outer, but smaller, pair of chin-shields. Back and belly covered with small granules, uniform anteriorly but posteriorly with a few large scales irregularly scattered, about 12-16 in longitudinal series at midbody corresponding to a distance equal to the diameter of the eye; males have neither preanal nor femoral pores. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with small, smooth, imbricate scales which are larger than the dorsals. Coloration: above, pinkish white dusted with dark brown; head sometimes dotted with brown, particularly in front of the eye, the anterior border of which is white; dark brown semicircular band from eye to eye; back with or without small circular white spots, and with four dark brown crossbars which tend to broaden and break up on the flanks; tail with about eleven dark brown crossbars; below, whitish. [SOURCE: Loveridge]

H. squamulatus

Nyika Gecko, Tournier's Leaf-Toed Gecko

N Kenya, SC Tanzania

TL 111 mm, SVL 57 mm

Formerly treated as a subspecies of H. tropidolepis. Description: head elongate oviform; snout much longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, about once and two fifths the diameter of the orbit; forehead feebly concave; ear-opening suboval or subtriangular, about one third the diameter of the eye. Body rather elongate; limbs moderate. Digits moderate, free, inner well developed; 5-6 lamellae under the inner digits, 7-8 under the fourth finger, and 8-10 under the fourth toe. Scalation details: snout covered with large keeled granules ; hinder part of head with minute granules intermixed with small tubercles. Rostral four-sided, nearly twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral and 3-4 nasals, the rostral rarely entering the nostril; 9-10 supralabials, 8-9 sublabials; mental large, triangular; two pairs of chin-shields, median largest and in contact behind the point of the mental. Upper surface of body covered with minute granules intermixed with small trihedral, strongly keeled tubercles arranged in 14-18 irregular longitudinal series. Abdominal scales small, cycloid imbricate. Males with 4-8 preanal pores, and a strong conical tubercle on each side of the base of the tail. Tail: cylindrical, slightly depressed, tapering, covered above with minute scales intermixed with large spine-like tubercles forming six longitudinal rows; inferiorly with small irregular imbricate scales. Coloration: grey-brown above, uniform or with indistinct darker markings; dirty white beneath. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. s. squamulatus

N Kenya, SC Tanzania

6"?

?.

H. s. barbouri

Kenya (coastal), Tanzania

6"?

?.

H. s. floweri

Republic of South Sudan

6"?

H. stejnegeri

Stejneger's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Taiwan, China, Philippines (Luzon and Panay), Vietnam

Parthenogenetic species.

H. subtriedrus

? Leaf-Toed Gecko

India

H. tanganicus

Dutumi Gecko, Tanzania Leaf-Toed Gecko

Tanzania

Max 16cm

? 

H. tasmani

Tasman's Tropical House Gecko, Tasmanian Leaf-Toed Gecko

C & E Zimbabwe

Max 16cm

? 

H. taylori

? Leaf-Toed Gecko

Somalia

SVL 46 mm, TL 88 mm

Named by Parker in 1942 as Teratolepis taylori. Description: Head once and a half as long as broad, somewhat depressed; snout longer than the distance from the eye to the ear, which is small and subcircular. Limbs short, overlapping when adpressed. Scalation details: scales of the snout juxtaposed, large and polygonal; rostral quadrangular, with a median cleft; nostril pierced between the rostral, first upper labial and three nasals, of which the uppermost forms a suture with its fellow; seven or eight upper and six lower labials; mental large, pentagonal, followed by two large pairs of chin shields, of which the anterior pair form a long median suture; remainder of the lower labials bordered by some enlarged scales. Scales of occiput and nape homogeneous, granular; dorsals smooth, a little larger than the ventrals; about 78 scales around the middle of the body. Digits short, very slightly dilated proximally and with divided lamellae, which grade insensibly into the granular scales of the palms and soles. The numbers under the digits are: fingers 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, and toes 6, 7, 8, 8, 6, counting from the first to the fifth respectively. Distal phalanges of the fingers very short, but those of the toes very much longer and armed with very long, slender claws. Posterior surfaces of femora and tibiae with some enlarged, irregularly arranged tubercles. Tail: conical, with smooth scales similar to those of the body. An angular series of 15 preanal pores and a single conical tubercle on each side of the base of the tail; post-anal bones and sacs present. Coloration: brownish grey above; a light line along the upper lip continuing to the region above the arm. This light stripe is bordered above by a blackish stripe from the nostril, through the eye and above the ear, and beneath by an interrupted black line along the lower labials and backward as a series of small, widely spaced dots to the arm. A short whitish stripe from the eye along the temple; a V-shaped transverse bar on the occiput, followed by a series of six distinct, round or transversely oval, white spots along the vertebral line; tail with a median series of transversely oval spots anteriorly which give place to two alternating dorso-lateral series behind. Hinder side of the hind-limbs with circular white spots. Lower surfaces uniform white. Length from snout to vent 46 mm. [SOURCE: Parker]

H. triedrus

Dakota's Leaf-Toed Gecko, Termite Hill Gecko

Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka

17cm

Terrestrial gecko commonly associated with termite hills: widely distributed across its range. Scalation details: snout covered with convex granules which may be keeled; rear part of head with minute granules intermixed with roundish tubercles; rostral subquadrangular, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between rostral, 1^st labial and 3-4 nasals; 8-10 supralabials, 7-8 infralabials; mental large, triangular or pentagonal, at least twice as long as adjacent labials; 4 chinshields, of which median pair largest and in contact behind mental; dorsally covered with small flat granular tubercles and large trihedral tubercles, the latter arranged in more or less irregular 16 or 18 (20) rows; ventral scales large, smooth, rounded and imbricate. Other: head large, oviform; snout longer than distance between eye and ear-opening; forehead concave; ear-opening large, suboval, oblique, about half diameter of eye; digits free, moderately dilated, inner well developed; subdigital lamellae slightly oblique, 6-7 under inner digits, 8-10 under median digits; males have 6-8 femoral pores on each side; tail rounded, feebly depressed, tapering, dorsally covered with irregular small, smooth, imbricated scales and rings of large, pointed, keeled tubercles; ventrally with median series of transversely dilated plates. Coloration: overall sandy brown with dark-edged brown-green crossbars from neck to tip of tail (see picture in Daniel). Reproduction: see Daniel for details from Pakistan. [SOURCES: Boulenger, Daniel]

H. t. triedrus

Pakistan and India

H. t. lankae

Sri Lanka

H. tropidolepis

Ogaden Gecko, Mocquard's Leaf-Toed Gecko

Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia

TL up to 7 cm

Description: snout slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening; digits free, moderately dilated, with rather short distal joints, inferiorly with oblique scansors, 4 under 1^st toe, 7-9 under 4^th toe Scalation details: strongly imbricated keeled dorsal scales, some small and some considerably larger: the latter are larger than the interspaces around them.  Nostril bordered by rostral, 1^st labial (sometimes excluded) and 3-4 small nasals, the uppermost in contact with its fellow; 7-8 supralabials, 5-6 sublabials; a pair of large postmentals in contact on the median line, an outer but smaller pair of chin-shields. Tail: cylindrical, tapering, covered above with large imbricate scales, of which some at least on the base of the tail are keeled, the keeling becoming less pronounced distally; below with imbricate scales of which the median series are more or less transversely enlarged. Coloration: above, greyish fawn or olive brown; dark streak from nostril passing through the eye to the ear is sometimes present; lips and edge of eyelid sometimes white; back marbled with brown, and each scale spotted with white. Below, whitish, most of the scales being minutely punctate with black. Reproduction: males have 6-10 preanal pores forming an uninterrupted series. [SOURCES: Loveridge, SHDA]

H. turcicus

Turkish Gecko (aka Mediterranean Gecko)

Asia Minor, Mediterranean (plus colonies established further afield, including on other continents)

TL 9 cm, SVL approx 5.5 cm

A pink nocturnal gecko that prefers walls, stones and rocks. It may bask for a short time during the day. Males may make clicking noises. These are also quite popular terrarium geckos and can be maintained in colonies. This species is such a "traveller" that it has now spread far beyond its original range and can be found even in the Americas: see the Reptile Database entry for a full distribution. Description: snout rounded, about as long as the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and one fourth to once and one third the diameter of the orbit; forehead slightly concave; ear-opening oval, oblique, not quite half the diameter of the eye. Body and limbs moderate. Digits rather variable in the length, the inner always well developed; six to eight lamellae under the inner digits, 8-10 under the 4^th finger, and 9-11 under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: head anteriorly with large granules, posteriorly with minute granules intermixed with round tubercles. Rostral four-sided, not twice as broad as high, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three nasals; 7-10 upper and 6-8 lower labials; mental large, triangular, at least twice as long as the adjacent labials, its point between two large chin-shields, which may be in contact behind it; a smaller chinshield on each side of the larger pair. Upper surface of body covered with minute granules intermixed with large tubercles; these are generally larger than the interspaces between them, suboval, trihedral, and arranged in 14 or 16 pretty regular longitudinal series. Abdominal scales small, smooth, roundish-hexagonal, imbricate. Males with a short angular series of 4-10 (exceptionally 2) preanal pores. Tail: cylindrical, slightly depressed, tapering, covered above with minute scales and transverse series of large keeled tubercles, inferiorly with a series of large transversely dilated plates. Coloration: light brown or greyish above, spotted with darker; many of the tubercles white; lower surfaces white. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

H. ulii

SW Yemen

Max SVL approx 4 cm

Description: small species. 5–6 lamellae under the 1^st toe and 8–9 lamellae under the 4^th toe. Scalation details: uppermost nasals separated by a small shield or in wide contact; large anterior postmentals usually in wide mutual contact, and in contact with the 1^st and 2^nd sublabial (scarcely and unilaterally with the 1^st sublabial only); 8–10 supralabials, 7–9 sublabials; dorsum with 12-16 longitudinal rows of enlarged, slightly keeled, conical tubercles; approx. 6–8 tail segments bearing 6 tubercles; 8 preanal pores in one continuous row in males; subcaudals enlarged. Coloration: in alcohol dorsum brownish grey with a pattern of more or less conspicuous dark transverse bands starting on the nape; tail with 9 dark brown transverse bands. [SOURCE: Šmíd et al]

H. vanam

Meghamalai Rock Gecko

India

H. vietnamensis

Vietnam Leaf-Toed Gecko

Vietnam

Parthenogenetic species. 

H. yerburyi

? Leaf-Toed Gecko

NE Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman

H. y. yerburyi

H. y. pauciporosus