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''Christinus marmoratus'', also known as marbled gecko or southern marbled gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae (gecko) native to southern mainland of
Adults reach an average (snout-vent) length of 50mm, and weigh about 2.5g.Kearney M, Shine R, Comber S, Pearson D. 2001. Why do geckos group? An analysis of "social" aggregations in two species of Australian Lizards. Herpetologica 57:4, 411–422. ''C. marmoratus'' have fat reserves in their tails,Daniels CB. 1984. The importance of caudal lipid in the gecko Phyllodactylus marmoratus. Herpetologica 40:3, 337–344. which can be disconnected from their body ( autotomy) when threatened, to aid in escape. Tails take about eight months to regenerate. Fully regenerated tails are characterized by an abrupt change in dorsal skin colouring and pattern at the level of the original fracture plane. Original tails also have much more developed muscular bands. ''C. marmoratus'' hatchlings do not have any fat in the tail, and they drop it more readily than adults do.
''C. marmoratus'' is insectivorous and nocturnal. During the hot summer months they generally use deep crevices and burrows as their daytime retreat sites, and in cooler weather they aggregate under rocks. Riverine populations generally rest under the thick exfoliating bark of large eucalyptus trees during the daytime. ''C. marmoratus'' are commonly found in aggregations of up to 10 individuals, and most aggregations contain one male. Given that many geckos have been reported to engage in territorial behaviour, it is surprising that ''C. marmoratus'' aggregate so commonly (Kearney et al. reported that one quarter of individuals they found were in aggregations). It has been suggested that this activity may be related to mating success, increased vigilanceStamps JA. 1988. Conspecific attraction and aggregation in territorial species. The American Naturalist 131:3, 329. or simply attraction to high-quality habitat. Angiletta and Werner (1998) found that the preferred body temperature of ''C. marmoratus'' was 27.7 °C., which is much higher than their average body temperatures during the day or night. Subsequent investigation by Kearney and Predavec (2000) revealed that ''C. marmoratus'' may
''Christinus marmoratus'', also known as marbled gecko or southern marbled gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae (gecko) native to southern mainland of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, from Victoria to Western Australia. The species is well adapted to a variety of habitats, including city dwellings.''.
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by John Edward Gray in 1845. The name he gave placed this group in the genus '' Diplodactylus'' as ''Diplodactylus marmoratus''. Gray's description was based on four specimens that were preserved in spirits. They were collected on the Abrolhos Islands (off Western Australia), and were donated to the British Museum from the collection of a "Mr. Gilbert". Gray examined another preserved specimen of ''D. marmoratus'' (from a different donor) which was discoloured, leading him to mistakenly describe it as a separate species (''Goniodactylus australis'') in the same publication. In 1885, George Boulenger placed ''D. marmoratus'' in the genus '' Phyllodactylus'' (the leaf-toed geckos). It remained in that genus until 1984, when a revision by Wells and Wellington placed it in the genus '' Christinus''. A study conducted by King in 1977 showed that ''C. marmoratus'' exhibits considerable geographic variation inkaryotype
A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...
across its range. Further investigation by Donnellan et al. (2000) led to the species being recognized as a composite of two subspecies; ''C. marmoratus marmoratus'' and ''C. marmoratus dactylus''. The two subspecies are commonly referred to as the western marbled gecko and the southern marbled gecko.
Description
Adults reach an average (snout-vent) length of 50mm, and weigh about 2.5g.Kearney M, Shine R, Comber S, Pearson D. 2001. Why do geckos group? An analysis of "social" aggregations in two species of Australian Lizards. Herpetologica 57:4, 411–422. ''C. marmoratus'' have fat reserves in their tails,Daniels CB. 1984. The importance of caudal lipid in the gecko Phyllodactylus marmoratus. Herpetologica 40:3, 337–344. which can be disconnected from their body ( autotomy) when threatened, to aid in escape. Tails take about eight months to regenerate. Fully regenerated tails are characterized by an abrupt change in dorsal skin colouring and pattern at the level of the original fracture plane. Original tails also have much more developed muscular bands. ''C. marmoratus'' hatchlings do not have any fat in the tail, and they drop it more readily than adults do.
Distribution and habitat
''C. marmoratus'' is Australia’s most southerlygecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
. It occurs from northeastern New South Wales to southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Western Australia, as well as a number of islands off the coasts of South Australia and Western Australia.King M, Rofe R. 1976. Karyotypic variation in the Australian Gekko Phyllodactylus marmoratus (Gray) (Gekkonidae: Reptilia). Chromosoma 54:75–87. They use a variety of habitats including open shrubland, sclerophyll forest
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...
, riverine woodland and urban regions.Kearney M, Predavec M. 2000. Do nocturnal ectotherms thermoregulate? A study of the temperate gecko Christinus marmoratus. Ecology 81:11, 2984–2996.
Ecology and behaviour
''C. marmoratus'' is insectivorous and nocturnal. During the hot summer months they generally use deep crevices and burrows as their daytime retreat sites, and in cooler weather they aggregate under rocks. Riverine populations generally rest under the thick exfoliating bark of large eucalyptus trees during the daytime. ''C. marmoratus'' are commonly found in aggregations of up to 10 individuals, and most aggregations contain one male. Given that many geckos have been reported to engage in territorial behaviour, it is surprising that ''C. marmoratus'' aggregate so commonly (Kearney et al. reported that one quarter of individuals they found were in aggregations). It has been suggested that this activity may be related to mating success, increased vigilanceStamps JA. 1988. Conspecific attraction and aggregation in territorial species. The American Naturalist 131:3, 329. or simply attraction to high-quality habitat. Angiletta and Werner (1998) found that the preferred body temperature of ''C. marmoratus'' was 27.7 °C., which is much higher than their average body temperatures during the day or night. Subsequent investigation by Kearney and Predavec (2000) revealed that ''C. marmoratus'' may thermoregulate
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...
by adjusting its posture, for instance, by raising or flattening the body to contact the rock substrate. They also seem to touch the rock with their snout before doing so, as if testing the temperature. ''C. marmoratus'' rarely vocalise; when they do, it is usually a squeaking call in response to attack.
References
*Edgar r. Waite F.L.S, C.M.Z.S, 1929 ''The Reptiles and Amphibians of South Australia'', Printed by Harbison Weir, Government Printer 31 January, p. 76, 7/- sixpence. {{DEFAULTSORT:Christinus marmoratus Reptiles of Western Australia Christinus Reptiles described in 1845 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Geckos of Australia