The tropical house gecko, Afro-American house gecko or cosmopolitan house gecko (''Hemidactylus mabouia'') is a species of house gecko native to

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. It is also currently found in North,

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and South America and 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 ...

, where it has been inadvertently introduced by humans.

Description

This species can attain a maximum length, from snout to vent, of 12.7 cm (5 in). Being nocturnal, it has very large eyes which are useful in spotting prey in low light conditions. It can change color (slowly) from light brown to a darker brown to better match its surroundings.

Diet

Its diet is varied, and includes animals such as

isopod 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 ...

centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

s, spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, beetles, moths, flies, mosquitoes,

anole Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles () and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfami ...

s and other geckos with the most important element being

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

species.

Vocalization

As with many gecko species, it has the ability to vocalize. Its vocalizations range from quiet peeps to rapid short squeaking sounds. They may be heard most easily on a quiet night when they are sitting near an open window.

Habitat

The tropical house gecko can be found predominantly in urban locations.

Behavior

Tropical house geckos are mainly

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 ...

and are voracious hunters of nocturnal flying and crawling insects. They have learned to wait near outside wall-mounted lighting fixtures so as to catch the insects that are drawn to the light.

Human impact

In some Caribbean cultures it is considered good luck to have a tropical house gecko residing in one's home, and certainly they do eat a lot of household insect pests. However, the feces of the tropical house gecko are approximately long, wide, and dark brown (almost black) in color. The gecko will usually confine its feces to one area of a home, but if that area happens to be a pale-colored carpet, drapes, or any other easily stained surface, the stains are not easily removed, and the droppings have to be physically scooped up as well. Despite being harmless, the common house gecko or 'woodslave' is considered by some in Trinidad & Tobago to be a bad omen and to have a poisonous touch. This is an old superstition and, in actuality, the house gecko is harmless and very useful due to hunting spiders and cockroaches.

References

* Boulenger, G.A. 1885. ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidae ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I- XXXII. (''Hemidactylus mabouia'', pp. 122–123). * Duméril, A.M.C., and G. Bibron. 1836. ''Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles, Tome troisième.'' ''General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles, Volume 3'' Paris: Librairie Encyclopédique Roret. iv + 517 pp. (''Hemidactylus mabouia'', pp. 362–363). * Moreau de Jonnès, 1818. "''Monographie du Mabouia des murailles, ou Gecko Mabouia des Antilles.''" ''Bulletin des Sciences par la Société Philomatique de Paris'', Series 3, 5: 138-139. (''"Gecko Mabouia"'', new species). * Schwartz, A., and

R. Thomas R. Thomas (March 13, 1961 – 1971) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky by Bull Hancock at his renowned Claiborne Farm. Sired by Nadir, the 1957 American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, his dam was Fleet Flight, a daughte ...

. 1975. ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''. Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Hemidactylus mabouia'', p. 124).

External links

Geckos May Be Famously Sticky, but Here's What Stumps Them
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tropical house gecko Hemidactylus Geckos of Africa Reptiles of Uganda Reptiles of the Caribbean Reptiles of the Dominican Republic Reptiles described in 1818 Taxa named by Alexandre Moreau de Jonnès