The little-scaled least gecko (''Sphaerodactylus microlepis'') is a

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 ...

species mainly found on the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

island of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

, where it was once thought to be endemic. It has falsely been recorded on St. Croix, Martinique, Monito Island, the British Virgin Islands, and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, but does not exist there.Though it has been recorded on

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

as well, this was on the basis of one specimen with no precise locality information, so its presence there has not yet been verified. Both sexes reach a length of 34 mm snout-to-vent. Its color pattern is variable, usually with six or seven dark bands between its limbs and a light brown or gray ground color; these markings may fade in some adults. Its tail is bright pink to pale orange with ladder-shaped markings. Its ventral surface is white or yellow, with dark stripes extending from its chin to its throat or chest. The top of its head is light brown or yellow, with dark stripes extending from behind its eyes and joining behind its neck.

Notes

References

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External links

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Sphaerodactylus microlepis
at the Encyclopedia of Life
Sphaerodactylus microlepis
at the Reptile Database

Sphaerodactylus Reptiles of Saint Lucia Lizards of the Caribbean Lizards of Central America Taxa named by Christian Frederik Lütken Taxa named by Johannes Theodor Reinhardt Reptiles described in 1862 {{Sphaerodactylus-stub