The Round Island day gecko, Phelsuma guentheri, also known as Gunther's Gecko, is a 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...

 of gecko

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....

. It lives on the islet Round Island

Round Island (Mauritius)

Round Island is an uninhabited islet 22.5 kilometers north of Mauritius. It has an area of 1.69 square kilometers and a maximum elevation of 280 meters...

 (Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

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

Description

This lizard belongs to the largest living day geckos. Males can reach a total length of about 30 centimeters, but often are much smaller. Females of this species are generally smaller than males. The body colour grayish or brown grayish. 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.

Distribution

This species originally occurred on Mauritius before rats and cats were introduced. Nowadays, P. guentheri inhabits only Round Island, 22 kilometers north-northeast of Mauritius.

Habitat

P. guentheri is often found on different palms like bottle palms, fan palm

Fan palm

Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms in various genera with leaves that are palmately compound...

s (Latania loddigesii

Latania loddigesii

The Blue Latan Palm is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae family.It is found only in Mauritius.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Johnson, D. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 July 2007....

) and pandanus

Pandanus

Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...

. Since much of the original vegetation is destroyed, also by tropical cylones, P. guentheri is forced to live on rocky crevices.

Diet

These days geckos feed on various insects and other invertebrates. They also like to lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.

Reproduction

The females lay up to 4 pairs of eggs. The young will hatch after approximately 58-104 days. The juveniles measure 75 mm. The eggs are laid normally in June, but they are laid all the way from February-September.

Care and maintenance in captivity

These animals are endangered and are only bred by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust at Jersey Zoological Park

Jersey Zoological Park

Jersey Zoological Park or Jersey Zoo is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and author Gerald Durrell . It is now officially called Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after its founder, or Durrell for short...

.