A look at the

Subfamily GEKKONINAE - "True" Geckos

Family GEKKONIDAE

Genus PACHYDACTYLUS - Thick-Toed or Rough Geckos

A large (about 35 species) and rather ancient African genus, being considered ancestral to some of the other gekkonid genera such as Tarentola (Branch). Members of this genus are rarely seen in the trade, partly because there is a perceived lack of interest in "brown geckos" (as Walls calls them), but mainly because South Africa and Namibia do not allow exports. Only one species, P. turneri (Turner's Gecko) occurs with any regularity in captivity. This gecko was formerly confused with P. bibronii, Bibron's Gecko: any references seen in hobbyist literature to "Bibron's Gecko" probably apply to Turner's Gecko instead. Both species are quite similar and both make good pets.

The genus is characterised by the following: dilated toe tips, usually with undivided scansors: no femoral pores, but preanal pores may be present. Body scales small, granular and non-overlapping, with scattered, large keeled tubercles. Most if not all are nocturnal. They live in a diverse range of habitats and feed mainly on arthropods. The range of this genus is centred on southern Africa, with some reaching East Africa, the northernmost limit of their distribution.

In the table below, measurements are total-length approximations. They are taken mainly from the snout-vent length (SVL) given in Branch, and doubled, since the tail length of Pachydactylus species is about 50% of the total length (see SHDA). We have used centimetres rather than inches for this table due to the small size of most of the species.

There is still much work to be done on the individual species on this table, which will be carried out over a period of time.

NOTES: SHDA refers to the Field Guide to Reptiles of East Africa, Branch to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. To go to the Bibliography from a given entry, click on B: to return to the Quick Index, click on I.

	QUICK INDEX
P. affinis, Transvaal Thick-Toed Gecko	P. amoenus	P. austeni, Austen's Thick-Toed Gecko
P. barnardi, Barnard's Thick-Toed Gecko	P. bicolor, Velvety Thick-Toed Gecko	P. bibronii, Bibron's Thick-Toed Gecko
P. capensis, Cape Thick-Toed Gecko	P. caraculicus, Angolan Banded Thick-Toed Gecko	P. fasciatus, Banded Thick-Toed Gecko
P. fitzsimonsi, Fitzsimons' Thick-Toed Gecko	P. formosus, Thick-Toed Gecko	P. gaiasensis, Brandberg Thick-Toed Gecko
P.  geitje, Ocellated Thick-Toed Gecko	P. haackei, Haacke's Thick-Toed Gecko	P.  kladaroderma, Thin-Skinned Thick-Toed Gecko
P. kobosensis, Thick-Toed Gecko	P. kochii, Koch's Thick-Toed Gecko	P. labialis, Western Cape Thick-Toed Gecko
P. laevigatus, Thick-Toed Gecko	P. maculatus, Spotted Thick-Toed Gecko	P. mariquensis, Marico Thick-Toed Gecko
P. monticolus, Thick-Toed Gecko	P. namaquensis, Namaqua Thick-Toed Gecko	P. oculatus, Golden Spotted Thick-Toed Gecko
P. oreophilus, Kaokoveld Thick-Toed Gecko	P. oshaughnessyi, O'Shaughnessy's Thick-Toed Gecko	P. punctatus, Speckled Thick-Toed Gecko
P.  rugosus, Rough Thick-Toed Gecko	P. sansteyni, San Steyn's Thick-Toed Gecko	P.  scherzi, Schertz's Thick-Toed Gecko
P. scutatus, Thick-Toed Gecko	P. serval, Thick-Toed Gecko	P. tetensis, Tete Thick-Toed Gecko
P. tigrinus, Tiger Thick-Toed Gecko	P. tsodiloensis, Tsodilo Thick-Toed Gecko	P. tuberculosus, Tuberculate Thick-Toed Gecko
P. turneri, Turner's Thick-Toed Gecko	P. vansoni, Van Son's Thick-Toed Gecko	P. weberi, Weber's Thick-Toed Gecko

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
P. affinis	Transvaal Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (four northernmost provinces): poss. Free State & SE Botswana	6-9cm	B I
P. amoenus		RSA (Cape Province, Namaqualand)	?	For some reason this species is not mentioned in Branch. See the EMBL database listing. B I
P. austeni	Austen's Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (coastal areas of W Cape to Little Namaqualand)	6-9cm	B I
P. barnardi		RSA (S Little Namaqualand, Cape Province), Namibia		Formerly considered subspecies of P. rugosus. B I
P. bicolor	Velvety Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (NW Damaraland and Kaokoveld)	6-8cm	B I
P. bibronii	Bibron's Gecko	S. Africa, Angola, S. Tanzania	8-9"	Aggressive colonial species, usually found among rocks. Colouring is varying shades of brown, but Bibron's Geckos are distinguishable by five darker brown stripes across the back that are outlined with white spots. The skin is covered with many tubercular scales. This species requires warm dry conditions, in which it will thrive. Despite their colonial habits in the wild (up to 20 have been found in one shelter), cannibalism is not unknown in these lizards and males are aggressive, so they are best kept individually or at most on male and one female, if both are of similar size. Prey consists of insects of various sizes up to the grasshopper: Bibrons are also not hesistant about biting their keeper. Breeding is rare but is a worthwhile goal in view of the restrictions on wildlife exports from this region. Bill Branch commends these lizards as excellent pets. B I
P. capensis	Cape Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (Cape Provinces)	8-13½cm	B I
P. caraculicus	Angolan Banded Thick-Toed Gecko	SW Angola, Namibia (N Kaokoveld)	6-8cm	B I
P. fasciatus	Banded Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (N Damaraland and Kaokoveld)	8-11cm	B I
P. fitzsimonsi	Fitzsimons' Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (Damaraland), S Angola	13-18cm	B I
P. formosus	Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (W Cape Province)	13-18cm	B I
P. gaiasensis	Brandberg Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (Brandberg)	10-13cm	B I
P. geitje	Ocellated Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (SW Cape, inc. Cape Fold mtns, Port Elizabeth and Cradock)	6-9cm	B I
P. haackei	Haacke's Thick-Toed Gecko	S Namibia	14-17cm	B I
P. kladaroderma	Thin-Skinned Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (inland Cape escarpment on the Nuweveldberg, through to western Karoo and on to the southern Cape fold mtns)	13-17cm	B I
P. kobosensis		Namibia	?	Very restricted range: see EMBL database listing. B I
P. kochii	Koch's Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (Cape Cross & vicinity)	8-11cm	Closely related to P. mariquensis. B I
P. labialis	Western Cape Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (W Cape from Little Namaqualand to Calvinia)	6-9cm	B I
P. laevigatus		RSA, Namibia, Angola	?	For some reason this species is not mentioned in Branch in the 1998 edition, but is cited from Branch in the EMBL database listing. B I
P. l. laevigatus
P. l. fitzsimonsi
P. l. pulitzerae
P. maculatus	Spotted Thick-Toed Gecko	SE Africa [[RSA (Cape Province, S. Zululand, Natal, Transkei, SE Transvall), Swaziland]	4-5"	A grey-brown gecko with dark, sharply outlined spots. It lives among stones and bush roots, in leaf litter or in holes in ground, in the latter case often sharing these with girdle-tailed lizards (Cordylid species) or scorpions. Perhaps as a result of this, many in the wild seem to have regenerated tails. Although rarely seen in the trade, in captivity it apparently tames readily. B I
P. mariquensis	Marico Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA, Namibia	8-11cm	B I
P. m. mariquensis		RSA (E Cape [Addo] to S Fre State, Ceres and Little Namaqualand)		Scalation: nasorostrals in contact: dorsal scales granular and abutting. B I
P. m. latirostris		RSA (C & N Karoo to Great Namaqualand): Namibia (Spitzkoppe and SW of Brandberg)		Scalation: nasorostrals separated by granular scales: dorsal scales flattened and slightly overlapping. Namibian population is isolated. B I
P. monticolus		RSA (Cape Province)	?	Status unclear: not listed by Branch. See the EMBL database listing. B I
P. namaquensis	Namaqua Thick-Toed Gecko	Namaqualand: poss. Namibia	14-17cm	B I
P. oculatus	Golden Spotted Thick-Toed Gecko	Southern Africa	7-11cm	White ventral and grey-brown dorsal surfaces with dark band running along both sides and dark stripes across the back as far as the tail. A lateral dark band extends across the eye to the snout. B I
P. oreophilus	Kaokoveld Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (Brandberg), S Angola	8-11cm	B I
P. punctatus	Speckled Thick-Toed Gecko	N Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, Congo	5-7cm	B I
P. oshaughnessyi	O'Shaughnessy's Thick-Toed Gecko	N Zimbabwe, W Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, E Congo	9-11cm	B I
P. o. oshaughnessyi		As above except Congo		3-4 yellow crossbands on back (4-5 in Zambia). B I
P. o. kantanganus		Congo (Shaba Province)		6-8 thin yellow bands and larger keeled tubercles. B I
P. rugosus	Rough Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA [S. Little Namaqualand, Cape Province], Namibia	9-13cm	Until recently this lizard was known as Pachydactylus formosus (click here for reference). Very occasionally seen. Branch notes that all three subspecies may be full species. Preferred habitat is dry riverbeds and/or rocky outcrops, where they may either conceal themselves in cracks or in leaf litter, etc. B I
P. r. rugosus		Inland Nambia, from N Cape to Calvinia		Distinguished by four yellowish-brown undulating bands across the back (Branch). B I
P. r. barnardi		RSA [S. Little Namaqualand]		Now raised to full species status.  B I
P. r. formosus		RSA [W Cape Province]		Until recently this lizard was known as Pachydactylus formosus (click here for reference). Very occasionally seen. B I
P. scherzi	Schertz's Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (coastal plain and inland escarpment, from the Brandberg north to the Kaokoveld)	5-7cm	B I
P. sansteyni	San Steyn's Thick-Toed Gecko	Namibia (Kuidas, S Kaokoveld, mouth of Cunene River)	7-9cm	B I
P. scutatus	Large-Scaled Thick-Toed Gecko	N Nambia and S Angola	6-8cm	B I
P. serval	Western Spotted Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (S Karoo to Lower Orange River and Great Namaqualand: absent from W Cape and Little Namaqualand): S Namibia	7-9cm	B I
P. s. serval		S Namibia		Scalation: dorsal tubercles scattered and enlarged, not keeled or raised.
P. s. onscepensis		RSA (lower Orange River valley)		Scalation: dorsal tubercles scattered, raised and keeled.
P. s. purcelli		RSA (W Little Karoo), SE Namibia		Scalation: dorsal scales granular, lacks tubercles.
P. tetensis	Tete Thick-Toed Gecko	Lower Zambezi valley	14-20cm	B I
P. tigrinus	Tiger Gecko	Zimbabwe, Republic of South Africa (N. Transvaal), E. Botswana, W. Mozambique (S. Blinkwater/Brak River)	?	A brown gecko with white stripes in a tiger pattern. I have seen this gecko offered for sale on a business web site, but other than that have no information about it. Click here for EMBL's reference and a link to a photograph. B I
P. tsodiloensis	Tsodilo Thick-Toed Gecko	N Botswana (Tsodilo Hills)	9-12cm	B I
P. tuberculosus	Tuberculate Thick-Toed Gecko	Zimbabwe, Republic of South Africa (N. Transvaal), E. Botswana, W. Mozambique (S. Blinkwater/Brak River)	?	A lighter brown gecko than most of its co-species, with pronounced tubercles on the body and short darker brown patches, or stripes, on its dorsal surfaces. The tail is fairly long and tapering. Click here to find a photograph. B I
P. turneri	Turner's Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (Orange River Valley, Free State, NW and N Provinces, N KwaZulu-Natal), Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola and Tanzania	13-17cm	??. B I
P. vansoni	Van Son's Thick-Toed Gecko	RSA (Free State, E N Provinces, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal), SE Zimbabwe, Mozambique	8-12cm	B I
P. weberi	Weber's Thick-Toed Gecko	C Namibia, RSA (Namaqualand to W Cape)	7-10cm	B I

Bibliography

Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa, Bill Branch, Struik, 1998. Best guide I have yet encountered on the members of this genus.

Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa by Stephen Spawls, Kim Howell, Robert Drewes and James Ashe. Detailed and invaluable review of all reptile species in the region.

Lizards of the World, Mattison

Keeping and Breeding Lizards, Mattison

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

Links

The site www.herpbreeder.com has some good pictures of South African Pachydactylus species.

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