Rhacodactylus chahoua
Encyclopedia
Rhacodactylus chahoua commonly known as the Mossy New Caledonian gecko or Short-snouted New Caledonian gecko, is an arboreal gecko
found natively on the southern portion of the island of New Caledonia
and on the outlying islands of Ile de Pines and Grande Terre
. R. chahoua is currently being evaluated by CITES as a possible candidate for protective status. R. chahoua was first described by Bavay in 1869.
R. 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 indicator in this species
as the geckos from the outer islands most often display the lighter gray patterns. It commonly reaches a snout to vent length (SVL) of 5.5 inches.
R. chahoua, like all of the Rhacodactylus geckos are omnivore
s. Their diet in the wild consists of various insect
s and fruits. They may also consume small lizard
s as part of their diet
.
R. chahoua lays two well calcified eggs that become adhered to one another shortly after laying. This is known as "egg gluing". R. chahoua is the only Rhacodactylus gecko that lays adhering eggs. The eggs are generally laid on top of the substrate (generally behind loose tree
bark) and are guarded by the female. The eggs hatch 60-90 days after laying.
This gecko is seen in the herpetology
trade but rarely. A male-female pair may be kept in a terrarium with a minimum size of 24x18x18, but as with all arboreal geckos, the taller the better.
Gecko
Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....
found natively on the southern portion of the island of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and on the outlying islands of Ile de Pines and Grande Terre
Grande Terre
Grande Terre is a French name typically given to the principal island of an archipelago. It may refer to the following:* The main island of New Caledonia.* The largest of the Kerguelen Islands....
. R. chahoua is currently being evaluated by CITES as a possible candidate for protective status. R. chahoua was first described by Bavay in 1869.
R. chahoua gets its common name from the moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
or lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
-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 indicator in this species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
as the geckos from the outer islands most often display the lighter gray patterns. It commonly reaches a snout to vent length (SVL) of 5.5 inches.
R. chahoua, like all of the Rhacodactylus geckos are omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
s. Their diet in the wild consists of various insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and fruits. They may also consume small lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s as part of their diet
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
.
R. chahoua lays two well calcified eggs that become adhered to one another shortly after laying. This is known as "egg gluing". R. chahoua is the only Rhacodactylus gecko that lays adhering eggs. The eggs are generally laid on top of the substrate (generally behind loose tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
bark) and are guarded by the female. The eggs hatch 60-90 days after laying.
This gecko is seen in the herpetology
Herpetology
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles...
trade but rarely. A male-female pair may be kept in a terrarium with a minimum size of 24x18x18, but as with all arboreal geckos, the taller the better.