Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Gold dust day gecko

Gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda laticauda (BOETTGER 1880) (syn. Pachydactylus laticauda BOETTGER 1880)) is a diurnal subspecies of geckos. It lives in northern Madagascar and on the Comoros. It typically inhabits different trees and houses. The Gold dust day gecko feeds on insects and nectar.This lizard belongs to the smaller day geckos. It can reach a total length of about 13 cm. The body colour is a bright green or yellowish green or rarely even blue. Typical for this day gecko are the yellow speckels on the neck and the upper back. There are three rust-coloured transverse bars on the snout and head. The upper eyelid is blue. On the lower back there are three longish red bars. The tail is slightly flattened. The ventral side is off-white.The Gold dust day gecko inhabits the northern part of Madagascar. It can also be found on the island Nosy Bé and the Comoros. According to McKeown [2], this species has also been introduced onto Farquhar Island in the southern Seychelles, and onto the Hawaiian island, where it is established on both sides of Oahu, the Kona side of the Big Island, and on Maui.