The Monito gecko (''Sphaerodactylus micropithecus'') is a lizard, 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 ...

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 the island of Monito, in the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Habitat & distribution

The Monito gecko is restricted to two locations on Monito: along the island's northwestern shelf over a sea cave, and an area along the northeastern edge in the vicinity of Castle Rock measuring approximately 500 by 300 meters, an area of . It was discovered in May 1974 when a single adult and an egg were collected from the island of Monito.

Conservation

It is believed that its scarcity may be due to the introduction of

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s to Monito and from

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

caused by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

bombing practices after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1982, a survey was conducted to establish the population range and size of the species. A total of 18 individuals were observed. For these reasons the species was placed in the endangered species list on October 15, 1982 by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

. Black (ship) rats were eradicated from the island by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Environmental and Resources in 1992 and 1999. The geckos have thrived since the removal of rats, and were proposed in 2018 to be delisted from the Endangered Species list.
US Fish and Wildlife Service website, "An endangered species recovery success story: Service proposes delisting Monito gecko following conservation collaboration."

Taxonomy

When first described, the Monito gecko was thought to be closely related to either the Mona least gecko (''Sphaerodactylus monensis''), an endemic of the island of Mona located approximately southeast of Monito or to the Desecheo least gecko (''

Sphaerodactylus levinsi ''Sphaerodactylus levinsi'', also known commonly as the Desecheo gecko or the Isla Desecheo least gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae . The species is endemic to Desecheo Island in Puerto Rico. Etymology The specific n ...

'') an endemic to

Desecheo Island Desecheo ( es, Isla Desecheo) () is a small uninhabited island of the archipelago of Puerto Rico located in the northeast of the Mona Passage; from Rincón on the west coast ( Punta Higüero) of the main island of Puerto Rico and northeast ...

. Subsequent studies proved that the Monito gecko is more closely related to '' S. macrolepis'', a species common throughout the Puerto Rican Bank.

Description

Due to the rarity of the species biological information is limited. The Monito gecko is light-gray to tan in coloration with darker spots on top of the body. The maximum length for this species is 36 mm from snout to vent. Information on the diet of the Monito gecko is currently unavailable but it is believed that, similar to other geckos, it is an

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

and/or

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

. Reproductive information is also limited but it is estimated that breeding season lasts from March to November. It is believed that females lay one or two eggs that hatch in 2 to 3 months. Contrary to the majority of geckos, it is diurnal.

References

* Listed as Endangered (EN D v2.3) * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2756963 Sphaerodactylus Reptiles of Puerto Rico Endemic fauna of Puerto Rico Reptiles described in 1977 ESA endangered species

Habitat & distribution

Conservation

Taxonomy

Description

See also

References