The forest gecko (''Mokopirirakau granulatus'') is a species of

gecko 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 ...

. ''Granulatus'' refers to the granular texture of the skin.Gill, B.J. and Whitaker, A.H. (2001). ''New Zealand Frogs and Reptiles''. David Bateman Limited, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Its

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name is ''moko pirirākau'' ("lizard that clings to trees"). It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to New Zealand, found in all areas except the Far North,

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. In June 2010 seven forest geckos, four female and three male, were stolen from a wildlife park in Northland. Forest geckos are a protected species under the

Wildlife Act 1953 Wildlife Act 1953 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. Under the act, the majority of native New Zealand vertebrate species are protected by law, and may not be hunted, killed, eaten or possessed. Violations may be punished with fines of up to ...

Conservation status

In 2012 the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

reclassified the forest gecko as ''At Risk'' under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

. It was judged as meeting the criteria for ''At Risk'' threat status as a result of it having a low to high ongoing or predicted decline. This gecko is also regarded as being ''Data Poor'' which indicates the Department of Conservations uncertainty about the listing due to lack of data.

References

External links

''Hoplodactylus granulatus''
at the New Zealand Herpetological Society
''Hoplodactylus granulatus''
at the J. Craig Venter Institute {{Taxonbar, from=Q3016095 Mokopirirakau Endemic fauna of New Zealand Reptiles of New Zealand Reptiles described in 1845 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Endemic reptiles of New Zealand

Conservation status

See also

References

External links