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The Rodrigues giant day gecko (''Phelsuma gigas'') is an extinct
''Phelsuma gigas'' was one of the largest known geckoes. It reached a total length of about . The body colour was grayish or grayish brown. On the back there were irregular black spottings. The tail had some striping and was charcoal- or dark grey-coloured. The tongue had a pink colour and the ventral side of the body was light yellow. The original collected specimens that were used to describe this species have been lost. Today, only a few portions of some skeletons remain.
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of day gecko
''Phelsuma'' is a large genus of geckos in the family Gekkonidae. Species in the genus ''Phelsuma'' are commonly referred to as day geckos.
Some day geckos are seriously endangered and some are common, but all ''Phelsuma'' species are CITES App ...
. It lived on the island of 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 ...
and surrounding islands and typically dwelt on trees. The Rodrigues giant day gecko fed on insects and nectar, and, unlike most other day geckos, was apparently nocturnal in habit.
Description
''Phelsuma gigas'' was one of the largest known geckoes. It reached a total length of about . The body colour was grayish or grayish brown. On the back there were irregular black spottings. The tail had some striping and was charcoal- or dark grey-coloured. The tongue had a pink colour and the ventral side of the body was light yellow. The original collected specimens that were used to describe this species have been lost. Today, only a few portions of some skeletons remain.
Behaviour
Leguat described the species:Distribution
This species inhabitedRodrigues
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 ...
and surrounding islands. ''P. gigas'' was last collected in 1842 on the offshore islet of Ile aux Fregates.
Habitat
''P. gigas'' was an arboreal lizard living on trees within the forests of Rodrigues. ''P. gigas'' became extinct due to human-induced deforestation and predation by introducedcat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
s and rats
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 ...
.
Diet
These day geckos fed on various insects and other invertebrates. As observed in other species of day geckos, it was assumed that ''P. gigas'' also liked to lick at soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.References
* Günther (1877)'' Journal of the Linnean Society'', Zoology, 13:322-327 * Liénard (1842) ''Rapport de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de Maurice'', (13):55-57 * McKeown, Sean (1993) ''The general care and maintenance of day geckos''. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside CA. * Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is listed as extinct {{Taxonbar, from=Q146475 Extinct reptiles Reptile extinctions since 1500 Phelsuma Reptiles described in 1842