''Lepidodactylus tepukapili'' 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 ...

, which is known as the Tuvalu forest gecko and is known in the Tuvaluan language as ''moko'' or ''pili''. It is the only recorded

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

that 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 ...

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

. It has been located on

Fuagea Fuagea is an Island, islet located in the archipelago of Tuvalu in the south-western part of the atoll of Funafuti. Fuagea (also known as Fuakea), is part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, established in 1996 with the aim of preserving the natural ...

(also called Fuakea) and on

Tepuka Tepuka is an island eighteen kilometers west of Fongafale, in the northwest of Funafuti, the main atoll of the Oceanian nation of Tuvalu. Te puka, or Pouka, is the name of a tree - ''Hernandia peltata''.There is a well-preserved underground bunke ...

. ''Lepidodactylus tepukapili's'' naming is based upon the Tuvaluan language words for "small lizard" and the island of

, where specimens were first discovered. In 2021, the IUCN published its assessment of the Tuvalu forest gecko, classifying it as Critically Endangered due to the ongoing threat of sea-level rise, as related to anthropogenic climate change. The two small low-lying islands on which it occurs average just 2 metres above sea level.

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

.Tuvalu Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity
Ministry of Public Works, Labour, Meteorology and Disaster. Government of Tuvalu. 2020. p. 79. Retrieved February 2, 2022.

References

Lepidodactylus Endemic fauna of Tuvalu Reptiles of Oceania Reptiles described in 2003 {{gecko-stub