The Round Island day gecko (''Phelsuma guentheri''), also known as Günther's gecko, is an endangered

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 ...

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 ...

. It lives on the islet Round Island (

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

), and typically dwells on different palm trees. The Round Island day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.

Etymology

The specific name, ''guentheri'', is in honor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 rept ...

Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3 October 1830 – 1 February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive re ...

.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Phelsuma guentheri'', pp. 110-111).

Description

''P. guentheri'' is one of the largest living day geckos. Males can reach a total length of about , but often are much smaller. Females of this species are generally very much smaller than males. The body color is grayish or grayish brown. A dark-brown stripe extends from the nostril to above the ear opening. On the back, dark spots may be present. In some individuals, the legs and toes have light-yellow bars. The ventral side is white or yellowish.

Geographic range

''P. guentheri'' originally occurred on Mauritius before rats and cats were introduced. Now, it inhabits only Round Island, north-northeast of Mauritius.

Habitat

''P. guentheri'' is often found on

bottle palm ''Hyophorbe lagenicaulis'', the bottle palm or palmiste gargoulette, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is native to Round Island, Mauritius. Description Bottle palm has a large swollen (sometimes bizarrely so) trunk. ...

fan palm Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms ( Arecaceae) in various genera with leaves that are palmately lobed (rather than pinnately compound). Most are members of the subfamily Coryphoideae, though a f ...

s ('' Latania loddigesii ''), and

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

. Since much of the original vegetation is destroyed, by tropical cyclones, ''P. guentheri'' is forced to live in rocky crevices.

Diet

Round Island day geckos feed on various insects and other invertebrates. They also lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen, and nectar.

Reproduction

The females lay up to four pairs of eggs. The young will hatch after about 58–104 days. The juveniles measure . The eggs are laid normally in June, but can be laid from February to September.

Care and maintenance in captivity

These animals are endangered and were bred and kept by the

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organization with a mission to save species from extinction. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the dodo as its symbol. T ...

Durrell Wildlife Park Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell (1925–1995). It is operated by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. ...

until 1999.