Added December 27 2004. Last updated 28 August 2022: updated Introduction and Bibliography.

A look at the

Subfamily GEKKO - Typical Geckos

Family GEKKONIDAE

Genus LUPEROSAURUS

"Wolf Geckos" are found in the SE Asian archipelago, from W Malaysia through the Philippines to Indonesia. These are smallish geckos, characterised by the flaps of skin on the front and rear of their limbs and sometimes bodies, hence the alternative common name of "Flap-Legged Geckos". There is little information readily available on them and even gecko-specific books rarely mention them. Alcala lists all the Philippines species as "endemic and rare".

Boulenger gives the characteristics of the genus as follows: digits strongly dilated, half-webbed, with undivided, angularly curved lamellae below; all but the thumb and inner toe with a very short compressed distal phalanx with retractile claw. Limbs bordered with cutaneous lobes. Upper and lower surfaces covered with juxtaposed granular scales. Pupil vertical. Males with preanal pores.

	QUICK INDEX
L. brooksi, Brooks' Wolf Gecko	L. browni, Brown's Wolf Gecko	L. cumingi, Philippines Wolf Gecko
L. iskandari	L. joloensis, Taylor's Wolf Gecko	L. macgregori, MacGregor's Wolf Gecko
L. palawanensis, Palawan Gecko	L. yasumai

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
Luperosaurus
L. brooksi	Brooks' Wolf Gecko	Indonesia (Sumatra)
L. browni	Brown's ~	W Malaysia
L. cumingi	Philippines ~ /Cuming's Flap-Legged Gecko	Philippines (Negros, Panay)	61-86 mm SVL	Alcata records this as being found on Luzon but does not mention Panay. "Flap-legged" common name derives from folds of skin on front and rear surfaces of limbs and along sides of body. Scalation: 15-17 supralabials; males have 15-20 preanal pores. Other: toes broadly dilated, about half webbed between 3rd & 4th toes, 13-15 scansors between 4th toes. Coloration: Alcata gives details of colour in preservative. Reproduction: eggs are laid on leaves of trees at 400m elevation: hatchlings are about 3cm in length.
L. iskandari		Indonesia (Sulawesi)
L. joloensis	Taylor's ~ /Jolo Flap-Legged Gecko	Philippines (Jolo, Mindanao)	27-36 mm SVL	Scalation: dorsal scales are small and granular, slightly enlarged on the snout and interspersed with a few enlarged spine-like scales; males have 30-31 preanal and femoral pores in a row of enlarged scales extending almost to the distal end of the thigh. Other: digits are broadly dilated and extensively webbed; 8-10 scansors under 4th toes. Coloration: Alcata gives details of colour in preservative.
L. macgregori	MacGregor's ~ /MacGregor's Flap-Legged Gecko	Philippines (Calayan Islands)		Scalation: 14-15 supralabials; 16 preanal pores. Other: digits are broadly dilated and one third to one half of their length webbed; 12-13 scansors under 4th toes. Coloration: Alcata givesa very few (and confusing) details of colour in life.
L. palawanensis	Palawan Gecko ~ / Palawan Flap-Legged Gecko	Philippines (Palawan)	44-52 mm SVL	Found in the leaf axils of arboreal ferns about 15m from forest floor in tall trees. Scalation: dorsal and lateral scales have scattered enlarged scales; males have 30+ preanal and femoral pores in a row of enlarged scales vearubg 29-32 pores in males. Other: digits are broadly dilated and half webbed; scansors found under 4th toes (Alcata goes not give number). Coloration: Alcata gives details of colour in preservative.
L. yasumai	Yasuma's ~	Indonesia (Borneo)

Bibliography

Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna. Volume X, Amphibians and Reptiles, Prof. Angel C Alcala, Natural Resources Management Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources and University of the Philippines, 1986. Very useful field guide to the herps of this area, which is usually under-represented in literature. One slight drawback is that the photographs are black-and-white and the descriptions of colour for many species are drawn from preserved specimens: otherwise this book is to be recommended if you can obtain a copy. We acknowledge our debt to this book for the details given in this section.