''Hemidactylus parvimaculatus'', also known as the spotted house gecko or the Sri Lankan house gecko, 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 ...

from South Asia and Indian Ocean.

Description

''Hemidactylus parvimaculatus'' can grow to in length. The body has many tubercles and the tail has rings of small spines. Coloration is light grey to tan; there are dark blotches that form three rows along the back. The belly is pinkish-cream.

Distribution

This gecko is found in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, southern India, Reunion, Mauritius and

Rodrigues Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...

, Moheli ( Comoro Islands), Maldives, and

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

. There are also introduced populations in Bangkok, Thailand, and in the southern United States.

Ecology

In Sri Lanka, ''Hemidactylus parvimaculatus'' has been recorded to prey upon ''

Ramanella variegata ''Uperodon variegatus'', also known as the Eluru dot frog, termite nest frog, variable ramanella, variagated ramanella, white-bellied pug snout frog, or variagated globular frog, is a species of narrow-mouthed frog (family Microhylidae) that is ...

'' frogs and insects. It can also be cannibalistic.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3130111 parvimaculatus Reptiles of the Comoros Reptiles of India Reptiles of the Maldives Fauna of the Mascarene Islands Reptiles of Sri Lanka Reptiles of Thailand Taxa named by Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala Reptiles described in 1953