''Woodworthia maculata'', also known as the New Zealand common gecko or Raukawa gecko, is a species in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Diplodactylidae
The Diplodactylidae are a family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and widespread family of geck ...
. The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''maculata'' means "speckled".''New Zealand Frogs and Reptiles'', Brian Gill and Tony Whitaker, David Bateman limited, 2001
Identification
''W. maculata'' is a small to medium-sized
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 ...
, with an average length of 155mm,Jewell, T. 2008 A photographic guide to reptiles and amphibians of New Zealand. New Holland, Auckland. 144 p. and has a predominant colour of grey or brown. The name ''maculata'' refers to the speckled pattern seen on this species (NZ Herpetological Society). The eyes are a greenish brown, with the snout-to-eye distance slightly longer, or equal to, the eye-to-ear distance. 'The mouth is lined in pink and has a pink tongue with a grey tip. ''Woodworthia maculata'' often occupies the same area as a couple of similar looking geckos ''Dactylocnemis pacificus'' and W. chrysosireticus '' ''W. maculata'' can be distinguished fro ''W. chrysosireticus'' by the lack of black speckles which are seen o ''W. chrysosireticus'' '. W. maculata'' differs from D. pacificus ' when looking closely at the nostril. In ''maculata'' the nostril scale is not in contact with the nostril, but i D. ''pacificus'' it is in contact.Bell T (compiler) 2010: NZ Lizards Database Species Synopsis. Common Gecko, Woodworthia maculatus Available: http://herpetology.landcareresearch.co.nz. Accession date: 06/04/2016. Landcare Research NZ Ltd.
Range
''W. maculata'' can be found all over
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 ...
; however, individuals in different locations across the country (especially in the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
) differ from each other in a number of ways. Individuals in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
are often more slender and darker in colour than those in the North Island. The species is not usually detected on
Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
. In the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Coromandel (New Zealand electorate), Coromandel and central North Island are generally found in lowland forests and are much larger, as well as being of various colours. The Southern North Island populations appear to be two-thirds smaller than nearby populations and exhibit sexual dimorphism. Populations which occupy the Cook Strait and nearby mainland's show to be a mix of the common Northern and Southern forms.
Habitat preferences
''W. maculata'' is terrestrial but is often found in trees, only in forested areas. A study by H. Frank and DJ Wilson (2011) showed that maculata is also commonly found in rocky areas with cracks and crevices, without a permanent shade cover. Few individuals were detected in highly grazed areas with no grass cover remaining.
Life cycle
''W. maculata'' has been found to have a characteristically long lifespan, with a suggested lifespan of 20 years. Some individuals have been aged at 29 years. A more recent study proposes that the species may live up to 37 years in the wild. It has been suggested that ''W. maculata'' may have a long lifespan to balance their slow reproductive rate.
Diet
Geckos have a simple diet of live insects and smaller organisms. The diet of a gecko includes, but is not limited to,
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s,
isopoda
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...
s,
moths
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
,
flies
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
,
grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshopp ...
s and
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
s. As expected, due to an individual's size and preference, the diet has a lot of variation. In other gecko species, the tail acts as a storage organ which can hold reserves of fat which the individual can use in times of food scarcity. Most gecko species cannot digest leaves and other tough plant material easily, however ''W. maculata'' and other New Zealand gecko species feed off plant material that is easily digestible and high in energy like
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
,
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
, sap or fruit.
Mainland geckos are commonly preyed on invasive species such as
stoat
The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...
s,
cat
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,
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
s and
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s. On off-shore islands where these invasive species are not present, the
morepork
The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of t ...
is considered the main predator. Rodents eat both the adult gecko and their eggs and are particularly dangerous for larger geckos. Although ''W. maculata'' are too small to fight them off, their heads are too big to fit in gaps small enough in which they would be safe from the predator.
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
found that ''W. maculata'' reproduces annually, and has evidence to suggest that some populations may be reproducing biannually. Cree also recognised that on average, each female produces less than 2 offspring per year and are slow to mature.
New Zealand Threat Classification System
The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand.
The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...