Last updated 9 April 2003: updated details for genus and added E & S African species, but without full details as yet.

A look at the

Subfamily GEKKO - Typical Geckos

Family GEKKONIDAE

Genus HEMIDACTYLUS - Half-Toed Geckos

A large genus (about 70-80 species) whose members all have well-developed toepads. They tend to be medium-sized geckos (about 6"), brown or pinkish in colour, with tubercular scales scattered amongst their granular scales. Some are great travellers and have established themselves thousands of miles from their place of origin thanks to man's transportation, especially H. turcicus.

KKS give the following details for the genus: digits free or more or less webbed, dilated, inferiorly with two rows of lamellae. All digits with slender distal clawed joints angularly bent and raising from within the extremity of the dilated portion. Pupil vertical. Hemidactylus differ from other geckos by the fact that the outermost phalanges of the fingers and toes are not bound to the enlarged toe pads, but are free to rise angularly from within the toe pads. The undersurface of these enlarged pads is made up of rows of scansors which are usually divided into pairs. In most species, the males have preanal and/or femoral pores which often form an unbroken row. The tail seems to be frequently shed.

SHDA note that much revision of the genus needs to be done, as some species were based on very limited material.

In the guide below, where two common names are given, the first is often the one given by SHDA.

Scientific Name Common Name Distribution Size Notes

Hemidactylus

H. agrius NE Brazil

H. albopunctatus Somalia, N Kenya, Ethiopia

H. aporus Anno Bono Island (Gulf of Guinea)

H. arnoldi NW Somalia

H. barbouri Barbour's Gecko
(Asian House Gecko) ? ?" ?.

H. barodanus Ethiopia, Somalia

H. bavazzanoi Somali Banded Gecko SW Somalia and NE Kenya ?" ?.

H. bayonii Angola

H. bouvieri Cape Verde Islands

H. b. bouvieri

H. b. boavistensis Boa Vista Island

H. b. razoensis

H. bowringi Oriental Leaf-Toed Gecko India, S China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan (Ryuku Islands inc. Okinawa)

H. brooksi Brooks' Gecko
(Asian House Gecko) ? 3½-4" Available, though not as frequently as H. turcicus. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus. Another wide ranging gecko with a propensity for stowing away. Females are apparently quite good breeders in captivity: eggs take 50 days to incubate at 32 deg. C (Mattison).

H. citernii NW Kenya, Somalia

H. curlei Somalia, Ethiopia

H. depressus Sri Lanka

H. dracaenocolus Yemen (Socotra Island) See note in EMBL database entry re origin of the species name.

H. echinus Hedgehog Leaf-Toed Gecko Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire, Central African Republic

H. fasciatus Banded Leaf-Toed Gecko Cameroon 6"? H. fasciatus is a dark brown in the daytime, but pales to a light-brown/yellow at night. It is sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus.

H. flaviviridis ? N. Africa to W. India 6"? Sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus..

H. forbesii Socotra Leaf-Toed Gecko Socotra, Abd-el-Kuri Island

H. frenatus Chit-chat (aka Pacific Gecko, House Gecko) SE Asia: S. & E. Africa, N. Australia, Mexico 5" The occasional availablility of this gecko in the trade belies its global distribution through transportation. Originally from SE Asia, the Chit-Chat is now established throughout most of the coastal tropics in the world. Apart from the normal gecko habitats of tropical rainforest and dry scrubland (where they often inhabit hollow trees), these versatile little geckos can be found in human dwellings and especially around rubbish dumps where they prey on the attendant flies. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus: see Walls and Coborn.

H. funaiolii Archer's Post Gecko, Kenya Leaf-Toed Gecko NC Kenya, S Somalia ?" ?.

H. garnotii
Indo-Pacific Gecko NE India (Darjeeling, Assam, Sikkim), Nepal, Thailand, Burma, Malysian Peninsula, S China (Hong Kong, Guangdong, Hainan, S Yunnan), Philippines, Indonesia (Sumatra, Nias, Borneo, Java), New Caledonia, Polynesia, Fiji, Western Samoa. Introduced into New Zealand, USA (Hawaii, Florida) and the Bahamas. ?" Another well-travelled house gecko species, although not all records of its distribution (notably those of Brazil and Peru) may be accurate. Parthenogenesis known or suspected in this species, at least among the alien Florida population. See the EMBL database entry for further information on the speciation and distribution of this species.

H. giganteus Giant Leaf-Toed Gecko India (Badrachalam /Godavari)

H. gracilis Graceful Leaf-Toed Gecko India

H. granchii Granchi's Leaf-Toed Gecko EC Somalia

H. granti Grant's Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island)

H. greefii ? Leaf-Toed Gecko Sao Thomé

H. haitianus Antillean House Gecko Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico Formerly considered a subspecies of H. brooksi: see EMBL database listing.

H. homoeolepis Arabian Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island), Oman

H. intestinalis Nigerian Leaf-Toed Gecko Nigeria, Liberia and other parts of W Africa H. ansorgii is now considered a synonym of this species: see EMBL database listing.

H. isolepis Uniform-Scaled Gecko, Scaly Leaf-Toed Gecko N Kenya, N & SW Somalia: poss. SE Sudan; Ethiopia 6"? The EMBL bibliography does not include SHDA, from where these details were mostly taken.

H. jubensis Mrioen Leaf-Toed Gecko Ethiopia, N Somalia

H. kamdemtohami ? Leaf-Toed Gecko Gabon, Equatorial New Guinea

H. karenorum Burmese Leaf-Toed Gecko Burma, NE India

H. klauberi ? Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia

H. laevis Common Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia

H. laticaudatus Andersson's Leaf-Toed Gecko Ethiopia, Eritrea

H. l. laticaudatus

H. l. fossatii

H. lemurinus Dhofar Leaf-Toed Gecko Oman

H. leschinaultii Leschinault's Leaf-Toed Gecko Oman, Pakistan, S India, Sri Lanka

H. longicephalus
Long-Headed Tropical House Gecko Angola, Cameroon, Lake Tanganyika, N Namibia 4-5"? ?

H. mabouia
(Moreau's) Tropical House Gecko S & E. Africa: C. & S. America, Antilles 6"? H. mabouia is one of the great colonisers of the genus: originating in C. and S. Africa, specimens found their way to the coast of Brazil and worked their way inland via the river system. In the wild, up to 50 eggs of this species have been uncovered in one spot, as several females seem to use the same place to lay their eggs. It is sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus.

H. macropholis Boulenger's Gecko Kenya, Somalia, N & E Ethiopia: poss. N Tanzania

H. maculatus Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko India, Sri Lanka

H. m. maculatus

H. m. hunae

H. mahendrai ? Leaf-Toed Gecko India

H. marmoratus Ryukyu Leaf-Toed Gecko Okinawa, Ryuku Islands (Japan)

H. matschiei Togo Leaf-Toed Gecko Togo, Nigeria

H. megalops Parker's Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia

H. mercatorius Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Dar-es-Salaam Island, Malawi, Ascension Island

H. modestus
Moderate Leaf-Toed Gecko Kenya 6"?

H. muriceus Guinea Leaf-Toed Gecko Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Dem. Rep. Congo, Congo, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon See notes on distribution and possible confusion with H. intestinalis in the EMBL database entry.

H. newtoni Newton's Leaf-Toed Gecko Gabon (Annobon Island)

H. ophiolepis Snake-Scaled Leaf-Toed Gecko Ethiopia, N Somalia

H. ophiolepoides Lanza's Leaf-Toed Gecko Ethiopia, N Somalia

H. oxyrhinus Sharpnose Leaf-Toed Gecko Yemen (Abd-el-Kuri Island in Socotra archipelago)

H. palaichthus Antilles Leaf-Toed Gecko Guyana, Venezuela, Surinam, Trinidad, St Lucia, Brazil, Tobago, poss. Colombia See EMBL database listing for more detailed distribution.

H. persicus Persian Leaf-Toed Gecko S Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, N Oman, Bahrain, Pakistan, N India

H. platycephalus Tree Gecko, Flathead Leaf-Toed Gecko E Kenya, E Tanzania; Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Islands; S Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, E Zambia, E Zimbabwe: Comoro Islands 18cm

H. porbandarensis ? Leaf-Toed Gecko India

H. prashadi Bombay Leaf-Toed Gecko India (Bombay)

H. puccioni Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia, Tanzania, Zanzibar

H. pumilio Pygmy Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island)

H. reticulatus Reticulate Leaf-Toed Gecko India

H. richardsoni Richardson's Forest Gecko W Uganda, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo 16cm

H. robustus Somali Plain Gecko NE Kenya, Somalia, Red Sea Coast, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

H. ruspolii Prince Ruspoli's Gecko, Farm Leaf-Toed Gecko Kenya, E Ethiopia, Somalia 9cm

H. scabriceps Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko India, Sri Lanka

H. sinaitus Sinai Leaf-Toed Gecko Sinai Desert, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, N Somalia, Yemen Known for a few decades as H. shugraensis: see EMBL database listing.

H. smithi Smith's Leaf-Toed Gecko N Somalia, Ethiopia

H. somalicus Northern Somali Plain Gecko N Somalia, Ethiopia

H. squamulatus Nyika Gecko, Tournier's Leaf-Toed Gecko N Kenya, SC Tanzania 6"? ?.

H. s. squamulatus N Kenya, SC Tanzania 6"? ?.

H. s. barbouri Kenya (coastal), Tanzania 6"? ?.

H. s. floweri Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia 6"? Range of this subspecies deduced from EMBL database entry: for precision, see Bibliography in their record.

H. stejnegeri Stejneger's Leaf-Toed Gecko Taiwan, China, Philippines (Luzon and Panay), Vietnam Parthenogenetic species.

H. subtriedrus ? Leaf-Toed Gecko India

H. tanganicus
Dutumi Gecko, Tanzania Leaf-Toed Gecko Tanzania Max 16cm ?

H. tasmani Tasman's Tropical House Gecko, Tasmanian Leaf-Toed Gecko C & E Zimbabwe Max 16cm ?

H. taylori ? Leaf-Toed Gecko Somalia

H. triedrus Dakota's Leaf-Toed Gecko Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka

H. t. triedrus

H. t. lankae

H. tropidolepis Ogaden Gecko, Mocquard's Leaf-Toed Gecko Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia

H. turcicus Turkish Gecko (aka Mediterranean Gecko) Asia Minor, Mediterranean (plus colonies established further afield, including on other continents) 4" A pink nocturnal gecko that prefers walls, stones and rocks. It may bask for a short time during the day. Males may make clicking noises. These are also quite popular terrarium geckos and can be maintained in colonies. This species is such a "traveller" that it has now spread far beyond its original range and can be found even in the Americas: see the EMBL listing for a full distribution.

H. vietnamensis Vietnam Leaf-Toed Gecko Vietnam Parthenogenetic species.

H. yerburyi ? Leaf-Toed Gecko NE Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman

H. y. yerburyi

H. y. pauciporosus

Bibliography

Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa, Bill Branch, Struik, S Africa 1998. Excellent field guide to the reptiles of the subcontinent, giving colour plates and scalation details for each species (and ecology where possible).

A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa, Stephen Spawls, Kim Howell, Robert Drewes and James Ashe, Academic Press, 2002. Excellent field guide to the reptiles of the region.

Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa, W Kästle, H H Schleich and K Kabisch, Koeltz Scientific Books, Germany 1996. Outstanding review of N African herpetofauna giving detailed account of each species.

Lizards of the World, Mattison

Keeping and Breeding Lizards, Mattison

Echsen [Lizards] 1, Rogner, Ullmer, 1992

Geckos: Keeping and Breeding Them in Captivity, Walls and Walls, TFH 1999.

Breeding and Keeping Geckos, Coborn, TFH 1995

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Volume 6: Reptiles has some useful colour plates and descriptions of many geckos.

Links

Click here for a caresheet on H. brooksi

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Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
Hemidactylus
H. agrius		NE Brazil
H. albopunctatus		Somalia, N Kenya, Ethiopia
H. aporus		Anno Bono Island (Gulf of Guinea)
H. arnoldi		NW Somalia
H. barbouri	Barbour's Gecko (Asian House Gecko)	?	?"	?.
H. barodanus		Ethiopia, Somalia
H. bavazzanoi	Somali Banded Gecko	SW Somalia and NE Kenya	?"	?.
H. bayonii		Angola
H. bouvieri		Cape Verde Islands
H. b. bouvieri
H. b. boavistensis		Boa Vista Island
H. b. razoensis
H. bowringi	Oriental Leaf-Toed Gecko	India, S China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan (Ryuku Islands inc. Okinawa)
H. brooksi	Brooks' Gecko (Asian House Gecko)	?	3½-4"	Available, though not as frequently as H. turcicus. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus. Another wide ranging gecko with a propensity for stowing away. Females are apparently quite good breeders in captivity: eggs take 50 days to incubate at 32 deg. C (Mattison).
H. citernii		NW Kenya, Somalia
H. curlei		Somalia, Ethiopia
H. depressus		Sri Lanka
H. dracaenocolus		Yemen (Socotra Island)		See note in EMBL database entry re origin of the species name.
H. echinus	Hedgehog Leaf-Toed Gecko	Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire, Central African Republic
H. fasciatus	Banded Leaf-Toed Gecko	Cameroon	6"?	H. fasciatus is a dark brown in the daytime, but pales to a light-brown/yellow at night. It is sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus.
H. flaviviridis	?	N. Africa to W. India	6"?	Sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus..
H. forbesii	Socotra Leaf-Toed Gecko	Socotra, Abd-el-Kuri Island
H. frenatus	Chit-chat (aka Pacific Gecko, House Gecko)	SE Asia: S. & E. Africa, N. Australia, Mexico	5"	The occasional availablility of this gecko in the trade belies its global distribution through transportation. Originally from SE Asia, the Chit-Chat is now established throughout most of the coastal tropics in the world. Apart from the normal gecko habitats of tropical rainforest and dry scrubland (where they often inhabit hollow trees), these versatile little geckos can be found in human dwellings and especially around rubbish dumps where they prey on the attendant flies. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus: see Walls and Coborn.
H. funaiolii	Archer's Post Gecko, Kenya Leaf-Toed Gecko	NC Kenya, S Somalia	?"	?.
H. garnotii	Indo-Pacific Gecko	NE India (Darjeeling, Assam, Sikkim), Nepal, Thailand, Burma, Malysian Peninsula, S China (Hong Kong, Guangdong, Hainan, S Yunnan), Philippines, Indonesia (Sumatra, Nias, Borneo, Java), New Caledonia, Polynesia, Fiji, Western Samoa. Introduced into New Zealand, USA (Hawaii, Florida) and the Bahamas.	?"	Another well-travelled house gecko species, although not all records of its distribution (notably those of Brazil and Peru) may be accurate. Parthenogenesis known or suspected in this species, at least among the alien Florida population. See the EMBL database entry for further information on the speciation and distribution of this species.
H. giganteus	Giant Leaf-Toed Gecko	India (Badrachalam /Godavari)
H. gracilis	Graceful Leaf-Toed Gecko	India
H. granchii	Granchi's Leaf-Toed Gecko	EC Somalia
H. granti	Grant's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island)
H. greefii	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	Sao Thomé
H. haitianus	Antillean House Gecko	Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico		Formerly considered a subspecies of H. brooksi: see EMBL database listing.
H. homoeolepis	Arabian Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island), Oman
H. intestinalis	Nigerian Leaf-Toed Gecko	Nigeria, Liberia and other parts of W Africa		H. ansorgii is now considered a synonym of this species: see EMBL database listing.
H. isolepis	Uniform-Scaled Gecko, Scaly Leaf-Toed Gecko	N Kenya, N & SW Somalia: poss. SE Sudan; Ethiopia	6"?	The EMBL bibliography does not include SHDA, from where these details were mostly taken.
H. jubensis	Mrioen Leaf-Toed Gecko	Ethiopia, N Somalia
H. kamdemtohami	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	Gabon, Equatorial New Guinea
H. karenorum	Burmese Leaf-Toed Gecko	Burma, NE India
H. klauberi	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia
H. laevis	Common Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia
H. laticaudatus	Andersson's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Ethiopia, Eritrea
H. l. laticaudatus
H. l. fossatii
H. lemurinus	Dhofar Leaf-Toed Gecko	Oman
H. leschinaultii	Leschinault's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Oman, Pakistan, S India, Sri Lanka
H. longicephalus	Long-Headed Tropical House Gecko	Angola, Cameroon, Lake Tanganyika, N Namibia	4-5"?	?
H. mabouia	(Moreau's) Tropical House Gecko	S & E. Africa: C. & S. America, Antilles	6"?	H. mabouia is one of the great colonisers of the genus: originating in C. and S. Africa, specimens found their way to the coast of Brazil and worked their way inland via the river system. In the wild, up to 50 eggs of this species have been uncovered in one spot, as several females seem to use the same place to lay their eggs. It is sometimes available. Captive care probably as for H. turcicus.
H. macropholis	Boulenger's Gecko	Kenya, Somalia, N & E Ethiopia: poss. N Tanzania
H. maculatus	Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko	India, Sri Lanka
H. m. maculatus
H. m. hunae
H. mahendrai	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	India
H. marmoratus	Ryukyu Leaf-Toed Gecko	Okinawa, Ryuku Islands (Japan)
H. matschiei	Togo Leaf-Toed Gecko	Togo, Nigeria
H. megalops	Parker's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia
H. mercatorius	Spotted Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Dar-es-Salaam Island, Malawi, Ascension Island
H. modestus	Moderate Leaf-Toed Gecko	Kenya	6"?
H. muriceus	Guinea Leaf-Toed Gecko	Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Dem. Rep. Congo, Congo, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon		See notes on distribution and possible confusion with H. intestinalis in the EMBL database entry.
H. newtoni	Newton's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Gabon (Annobon Island)
H. ophiolepis	Snake-Scaled Leaf-Toed Gecko	Ethiopia, N Somalia
H. ophiolepoides	Lanza's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Ethiopia, N Somalia
H. oxyrhinus	Sharpnose Leaf-Toed Gecko	Yemen (Abd-el-Kuri Island in Socotra archipelago)
H. palaichthus	Antilles Leaf-Toed Gecko	Guyana, Venezuela, Surinam, Trinidad, St Lucia, Brazil, Tobago, poss. Colombia		See EMBL database listing for more detailed distribution.
H. persicus	Persian Leaf-Toed Gecko	S Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, N Oman, Bahrain, Pakistan, N India
H. platycephalus	Tree Gecko, Flathead Leaf-Toed Gecko	E Kenya, E Tanzania; Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Islands; S Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, E Zambia, E Zimbabwe: Comoro Islands	18cm
H. porbandarensis	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	India
H. prashadi	Bombay Leaf-Toed Gecko	India (Bombay)
H. puccioni	Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia, Tanzania, Zanzibar
H. pumilio	Pygmy Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia, Yemen (Socotra Island)
H. reticulatus	Reticulate Leaf-Toed Gecko	India
H. richardsoni	Richardson's Forest Gecko	W Uganda, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo	16cm
H. robustus	Somali Plain Gecko	NE Kenya, Somalia, Red Sea Coast, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
H. ruspolii	Prince Ruspoli's Gecko, Farm Leaf-Toed Gecko	Kenya, E Ethiopia, Somalia	9cm
H. scabriceps	Zanzibar Leaf-Toed Gecko	India, Sri Lanka
H. sinaitus	Sinai Leaf-Toed Gecko	Sinai Desert, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, N Somalia, Yemen		Known for a few decades as H. shugraensis: see EMBL database listing.
H. smithi	Smith's Leaf-Toed Gecko	N Somalia, Ethiopia
H. somalicus	Northern Somali Plain Gecko	N Somalia, Ethiopia
H. squamulatus	Nyika Gecko, Tournier's Leaf-Toed Gecko	N Kenya, SC Tanzania	6"?	?.
H. s. squamulatus		N Kenya, SC Tanzania	6"?	?.
H. s. barbouri		Kenya (coastal), Tanzania	6"?	?.
H. s. floweri		Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia	6"?	Range of this subspecies deduced from EMBL database entry: for precision, see Bibliography in their record.
H. stejnegeri	Stejneger's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Taiwan, China, Philippines (Luzon and Panay), Vietnam		Parthenogenetic species.
H. subtriedrus	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	India
H. tanganicus	Dutumi Gecko, Tanzania Leaf-Toed Gecko	Tanzania	Max 16cm	?
H. tasmani	Tasman's Tropical House Gecko, Tasmanian Leaf-Toed Gecko	C & E Zimbabwe	Max 16cm	?
H. taylori	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	Somalia
H. triedrus	Dakota's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka
H. t. triedrus
H. t. lankae
H. tropidolepis	Ogaden Gecko, Mocquard's Leaf-Toed Gecko	Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia
H. turcicus	Turkish Gecko (aka Mediterranean Gecko)	Asia Minor, Mediterranean (plus colonies established further afield, including on other continents)	4"	A pink nocturnal gecko that prefers walls, stones and rocks. It may bask for a short time during the day. Males may make clicking noises. These are also quite popular terrarium geckos and can be maintained in colonies. This species is such a "traveller" that it has now spread far beyond its original range and can be found even in the Americas: see the EMBL listing for a full distribution.
H. vietnamensis	Vietnam Leaf-Toed Gecko	Vietnam		Parthenogenetic species.
H. yerburyi	? Leaf-Toed Gecko	NE Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman
H. y. yerburyi
H. y. pauciporosus