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Electronic Field Guide to the
Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California
Available Now at the
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| Adult, active at night, San Diego County |
Adult, active at night, San Diego County |
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Adult female, missing her tail,
Imperial County |
Adult, with re-generating tail,
Imperial County |
Juvenile, Imperial County |
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| Adult, active at night, San Diego County |
Adult, active at night, San Diego County |
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Adult, Baja California (found hiding under rock during daytime) |
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Juvenile, active at night,
San Diego County |
Close-up of skin, showing tubercles |
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Toes |
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Habitat |
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County
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Habitat, Imperial County |
| Short Videos |
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| A leaf-toed gecko crawls around on a large rock outcrop at night. |
A huge gravid female leaf-toed gecko with no tail runs around on a big boulder at night. |
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| Description |
Size |
| 1 3/5 - 2 1/2 inches long from snout to vent (4.1 - 6.3 cm). (Stebbins 2003) |
| Appearance |
A medium-sized gecko with large eyes without movable eyelids and vertical pupils. Expanded toe pads that resemble leaves give this gecko its common name. The toes have two large flat scales at their tips with a claw inbetween them. Scales are small and granular with scattered enlarged keeled tuburcles. Tail is easily detached. Males have enlarged preanal pores.
Color is a translucent gray, brown, or pink usually with dark brown blotches on the back. The underside is pale and unmarked. |
| Behavior & Natural History |
| Nocturnal, emerging shortly after dark. Most active from March to October. Probably remains inactive during cold of winter. An excellent climber, rarely found away from rocks. Squeaks when alarmed or captured. May leap into the air to avoid capture. |
| Diet |
| Stalks its prey of small invertebrates, which include termites, spiders, moths, flies, and ants. Sometimes leaves rocks to forage on the ground, on trees, and buildings. |
| Reproduction |
Breeds in April and May, laying several clutches of 1 - 2 eggs from May to July which hatch from June to August.
Eggs are laid in crevices or under exfoliating bark. (Grismer 2002) |
| Range |
| Occurs along the lower desert slopes of the peninsular ranges from north of Palm Springs in Riverside County south throughout much of Baja California. |
| Habitat |
Lives among rocks in desert scrub and broken chaparral, hiding in cracks and crevices and under exfoliating slabs. Often found in canyons with massive boulders especially near springs and streams, but also found in rocky, non-riparian areas. Occasionally found under plant material.
Sea level to 2,000 ft. (610 m). (Stebbins 2003) |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Phyllodactylus taxonomy has been controversial. Many species and subspecies have been recognized from Mexico, including island endemics. Only one, P. nocticolus occurs in the US. In 1993 P. nocticolus was a species distinct from P. xanti (Flores-Villela 1993 Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication 17) This taxonomy has not been recognized by everyone, and this gecko is still commonly labeled as P. xanti. (2007) |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| Protected from collection in California. Rock outcrops it inhabits are also protected from destruction. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Gekkonidae |
Geckos |
| Genus |
Phyllodactylus |
Leaf-toed Geckos |
Species
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nocticolus |
Peninsula Leaf-toed Gecko |
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Original Description |
Phyllodactylus nocticolus - Dixon, 1964 - New Mexico State Univ. Sci. Bull, Vol. 64, No. 1, p. 55
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Phyllodactylus - Greek - phyllon - leaf and daktylos - finger or digit - refers to the leaf like terminal subdigital lamellae
nocticolus - Latin - resident of the night - refers to this lizard's nocturnal habits
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Phyllodactylus xanti nocticolus - Leaf-toed Gecko
Phyllodactylus nocticolus - Peninsula Leaf-toed Gecko
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Related or Similar California Lizards |
Coleonyx variegatus variegatus - Desert Banded Gecko
Hemidactylus turcicus - Mediterranean House Gecko
Coleonyx switaki switaki - Peninsular Banded Gecko
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Grismer, L. Lee. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. The University of California Press, 2002.
McPeak, Ron H. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California. Sea Challengers, 2000.
Lemm, Jeffrey. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Diego Region (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, 2006.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This lizard is on the California Department of Fish and Game list of reptiles that cannot be taken with a valid license, but it is not included on the Special Animals List, indicating that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California. This seems to be a mistake, since the state is clearly protecting it for some reason. Natureserve lists this species as "Secure" but this included populations in Baja California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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