 This lizard continues to expand its range in California.
Red spots indicate some of the areas where it has been found and is most likely established.
Green spots indicate areas where it has been found, but may not be established. 
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Introduced: not native to California
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Adult on ceiling, Imperial County |
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The six pictures directly above all show the same large adult gecko from Travis County, Texas.
The top three pictures show the lizard in its dark phase and the bottom three show its light phase.
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Sub-adult, Travis Co., Texas |
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Juvenile, Travis Co., Texas |
Adult with re-generated tail,
Travis County, Texas |
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Mediterranean Geckos can climb up sheer surfaces, even glass. |
Underside of adult, showing toe pads |
Sub-adult, Travis County, Texas |
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Juvenile, Travis Co., Texas |
Adult, on outdoor motel lamp in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona. |
Adult, Travis County, Texas |
Habitat |
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Mediterranean geckos have spread to the town of Ocotillo, Imperial County |
Several Mediterranean Geckos gathered under an outdoor light on the wall of a Palm Springs motel, Riverside County
© 2005 William Flaxington |
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| Description |
| Size |
| 1 3/4 - 2 3/8 inches long from snout to vent (4.4 - 6cm) 4 - 5 inches long including tail (10.2 - 12.7 cm) |
| Appearance |
| A medium-sized , slightly flattened lizard, a pale translucent pinkish white color in the light phase (and gray to dark brown in the dark phase) with dark marks and bands and conspicuous large bumpy tubercles on the skin. Eyes are large with no lids and vertical pupils. The tail is round and ringed with dark and light bands. Juveniles have more prominent tail banding. The toes have broad pads with claws extending beyond them and no webbing. |
| Voice |
| Males make mouselike squeaking sounds during fights and probably to claim their territory. Males also make a series of clicking sounds to advertise their presence to females during the breeding season. |
| Behavior |
Nocturnal and Crepuscular. Males are territorial and will defend good hunting areas. Often seen sitting motionless under external lights waiting to feed on insects attracted to the light, and on walls and ceilings stalking insects. When approached too closely, they will run into a nearby shelter.
Active all year long, but more active during hot periods. These geckos appear to prefer hot climates in regions with short, mild winters, although they are apparently established in places with cold winters including Baltimore and Oklahoma. (Locey & Stone 2006) They are definitely capable of surviving short periods of freezing temperatures - I witnessed a population of these geckos survive a severe ice storm in central Texas, including one individual I found surviving under a large rock that was completely encased in ice. |
| Diet |
| A variety of small invertebrates. |
| Reproduction |
| Mates from March to July. These geckos are sexually mature in a year or less. Females lay 1 - 2 calcereous eggs 1 - 3 times per year from April to August in communal clutches. Eggs can be seen under translucent belly skin of females. |
| Range |
Native to the Mediterranean area, the Middle East, Somalia, and India. Reported in the United States in 1955 in Brownsville Texas, (and 1910 in the Florida Keys) this gecko has spread rapidly, and is currently found in scattered urban locations in much of the southern part of the U.S.A. including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.
Some locations where this gecko has been found in California include Ocotillo, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Indio, Blythe, Needles, Desert Hot Springs, Brawley, San Diego, Earp, Oceanside, Covina, Chowchilla and Fresno, although it may not be established in all of these areas. |
| Habitat |
| Urbanized, often living in or near human dwellings. I have seen them sheltering under house shingles, cracks between bricks, under outside wall lamps, and under rocks, downed wood, and planters in the yard, and in and under boxes in the garage. They can also be found under palm fronds, and other surface objects such as rocks, wood, and tin, and in crevices in rocks and holes in trees. At one rural location in Travis county near the ruins of some old buildings we found many of them under stacks of old roofing tin. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
Recently introduced into California, this successful stowaway is expanding its range slowly, although low winter temperatures will probably restrain them to the warmer southern parts of the state. The probable reason for the rapid spread of this gecko is the accidental transport of geckos and their eggs with shipments in trucks and cars, etc. (For example - I found a gecko inside a moving container that I was about to ship across the country. One gravid gecko, or one egg mass could be responsible for the establishment of this gecko in a new location.
The threat to native species by this invasive gecko is uncertain. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Gekkonidae |
Geckos |
| Genus |
Hemidactylus |
House Geckos |
Species
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turcicus |
Mediterranean House Gecko |
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Original Description |
Linnaeus 1758
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Hemidactylus - half fingered (hemi = half, daktylos = toe or finger)
turcicus - Latin, meaning "from Turkey"
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Alternate Names |
Turkish Gecko
Mediterranean Gecko
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
Phyllodactylus nocticolus - Peninsular Leaf-toed Gecko
Coleonyx variegatus variegatus -Desert Banded Gecko
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
GeckoWeb
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Garrett, Judith M. and David G. Barker. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Texas. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston Texas, 1987.
Life History of a Successful Colonizer: The Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, in Southern Texas
Kyle W. Selcer
Copeia, Vol. 1986, No. 4 (Dec. 23, 1986), pp. 956-962
doi:10.2307/1445292
Factors Affecting Range Expansion in the Introduced Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus
KENNETH J. LOCEY AND PAUL A. STONE
Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 526–530, 2006
Copyright 2006 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
There are no significant conservation concerns for this non-native animal in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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This lizard continues to expand its range in California. 
