''Gehyra oceanica'', also known as the Oceania gecko or Pacific dtella, 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 ...

in the genus ''

Gehyra ''Gehyra'' is a genus of geckos in the family ''Gekkonidae''. They are known as web-toed geckos or dtellas, and most species within the genus bear close resemblance to geckos from the genus ''Hemidactylus''. Geographic range ''Gehyra'' specie ...

''. The larger ''

Gehyra vorax ''Gehyra vorax'', also known as the voracious four-clawed gecko or voracious dtella, is a gecko native to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Poly ...

'' (voracious gecko) of Fiji, Vanuatu and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

has sometimes been included in this species, but is now treated as distinct. The species is native to New Guinea and a number of islands in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

and

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

. It has also been widely introduced across the islands of the Pacific, reaching as far as the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia (where the species was first collected for science), although the extent to which the species has been introduced by human intervention is a matter of some debate. There are two apparent populations, a northern one in Micronesia and a southern one in Melanesia and Polynesia. There are also records of the species in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, but the species has apparently not become established there. The species is generally

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

and

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. The diet includes insects and even smaller geckos. Some stomachs have also been found with seeds from fruit. It reproduces sexually, and unlike some other geckos in its genus its eggs are non-adhesive. The species shares communal nests of not more than twelve eggs in each, with only two eggs being laid by a female at a time. These eggs have a long incubation time, up to 115 days. It inhabits a range of habitats including plantations, gardens, and disturbed and undisturbed forests. The species will also feed inside human buildings, but is not described as

commensal Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit fro ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q978926 Gehyra Reptiles described in 1830 Taxa named by René Lesson