''Mniarogekko chahoua'' is commonly known as the mossy New Caledonian gecko, short-snouted New Caledonian gecko, Bavay's giant gecko, or mossy prehensile-tailed gecko. It is an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the 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. The habitats pose nu ...

gecko found natively on the southern portion of the island of New Caledonia and on the outlying islands of

Île des Pins The Isle of Pines (french: Île des Pins; name in Kanak people, Kanak language Kwênyii: ') is an island in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France. The island is part of the commune in France, ...

Conservation status

''Mniarogekko chahoua'' is currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.

Taxonomy and systematics

''Mniarogekko chahoua'' was first described in 1869 as ''Platydactylus chahoua'' by Arthur Bavay, a French pharmacist and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Rhacodactylus chahoua'', p. 19).

Description

''Mniarogekko chahoua'' gets its common name from the moss or lichen-like pattern it displays. Colors range from rusty red and brown to green or gray. There has been some notation that color could possibly be a

geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

indicator in this

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 ...

as the geckos from the outer islands most often display the lighter gray patterns. It possesses a strong, well-muscled, fully prehensile tail and is not subject to dropping it as readily as some of its relatives. Adult length is 10-12" (25-31cm).

Diet

''Mniarogekko chahoua'', like all of the ''New Caledonian'' geckos, are omnivores. Their

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

in the wild consists of various

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s and fruits. They may also consume small lizards.

Reproduction

''Mniarogekko chahoua'' lays two well calcified

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

that become adhered to one another shortly after laying. This is known as "egg gluing". ''Mniarogekko chahoua'' is the only ''Rhacodactylus'' gecko that lays adhering eggs. The eggs are generally laid on top of the substrate (generally behind loose

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

bark) and are guarded by the female. The eggs hatch 60–90 days after laying.

Captivity

This gecko is sometimes found in the pet trade, and typically available captive-bred. With good care, this species can live up to 15-20 years.

References

). * Bavay A. (1869). "''Catalogue des Reptiles de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et description d'espèces nouvelles''". ''Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Normandie'' 15: 1-37. (''Platycephalus chahoua'', p. 3). * Boulenger GA. (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I- XXXII. (''Rhacodactylus chahoua'', pp. 177–178). {{Taxonbar, from=Q2701086 Geckos of New Caledonia Mniarogekko Reptiles described in 1869 Taxa named by Arthur René Jean Baptiste Bavay