You are here » home › advanced search › Oedura monilis

Oedura monilis DE VIS, 1888

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Oedura monilis?

Add your own observation of
Oedura monilis »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaDiplodactylidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Ocellated Velvet Gecko, Ocellated Gecko, Blotched Gecko
G: Samtgecko, Augenfleckengecko, Queensland Fettschwanzgecko 
SynonymOedura ocellata BOULENGER 1885: 105 (partim)
Oedura monilis DE VIS 1888
Phyllodactylus (Oedura) Castelnaui — Thominot (partim) 1889
Oedura monilis — FRY 1915: 86
Oedura marmorata — LOVERIDGE 1934 (partim)
Oedura attenboroughi WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 13
Oedura monilis — KLUGE 1993
Oedura monilis — COGGER 2000: 264
Oedura monilis — OLIVER et al. 2012
Oedura monilis — HOSKIN 2019 
DistributionAustralia (NE New South Wales, E Queensland)

Type locality: Queensland

attenboroughi: Australia (Queensland); Type locality: Fork lagoon Road turn-off on the Capricorn Highway, 19 km west of Emerald, Queensland.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: QM J228
Holotype: AM R65941 [attenboroughi] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Oedura monilis can be distinguished from all congeners by the following combination of traits: relatively large adult size (SVl mean 81.4, max 96.6 mm); original tail moderate in length (Tl/SVl = 0.55–0.83) and roughly circular in cross section (TW/Tl = 0.15–0.21; TD/TW = 0.67–0.90); rostral scale only partially divided by medial groove; single cloacal spur on each side; moderate number of interorbital scales (16–20); typically < 18 pre-cloacal pores in males (mean 14, range 8–19), split medially by 0–3 scales without pores; iris dark; typically, unbroken pale bar on the nape; dorsal colouration consisting of a vertebral series of white bars or paired blotches, heavily interconnected (at least anteriorly) by dark markings; dark band extending from the back of the eye to the nape band and usually beyond; lateral markings including obscure white spot/s; no spots on limbs; original tail ringed with irregular white bands [from Hoskin 2019: 253].


Additional details (4441 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: Oedura attenboroughi Wells & Wellington, 1985 (holotype: NTM R4816) has been referred to O. marmorata by Shea & Sadlier (1999), however, the type specimen has distinctive dark-edged dorsal ocelli and is relatively small, indicating that it is part of the O. monilis de Vis, 1888 species complex from eastern Australia (OLIVER & DOUGHTY 2016).

Variation: this is quite a variable species. See photos in Hoskin 2019: 253 (Fig. 7) and Schmida (2000).

Ecology and habitat: Oedura monilis is found in a wide variety of habitats, from woodlands to dry rainforest vine thickets. It is arboreal and saxicoline, with some populations occurring primarily on trees, some populations being largely restricted to rock, and some populations utilizing both trees and rock. Individuals are typically found at night foraging on tree trunks, rock surfaces or fallen timber [from Hoskin 2019: 256]. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin monile (a necklace or collar), in reference to the color pattern. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Baker, Cherryl Richards; Brattstrom, Bayard H.; Brattstrom, Martha A. 1998. Microhabitat utilization by some Queensland, Australia geckos. Dactylus 3 (3): 97-102
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. Geckonidae, Eublepharidae, Uroplatidae, Pygopodidae, Agamidae. London: 450 pp. - get paper here
  • Bustard, H.R. 1971. A Population Study of the Eyed gecko, Oedura ocellata BOULENGER, in northern New South Wales, Australia. Copeia 1971 (4): 658-669 - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • De Vis, C. W. 1888. A contribution to the herpetology of Queensland. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales (2) 2: 811-826 [1887] - get paper here
  • Fry, D. B. 1915. Descriptions and notes on three lizards. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 27: 86-88 - get paper here
  • Hagey TJ, Harte S, Vickers M, Harmon LJ, Schwarzkopf L 2017. There’s more than one way to climb a tree: Limb length and microhabitat use in lizards with toe pads. PLoS One 12 (9): e0184641 - get paper here
  • Holfert, Tino 1996. Haltung und Vermehrung der australischen Samtgeckos Oedura monilis und Oedura castelnaui. Elaphe 4 (3): 19-24
  • HOSKIN, C. J. 2025. A new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from basalt habitat of inland north Queensland, Australia. Zootaxa 5583(3): 549-559 - get paper here
  • Hoskin, C.J.; Higgie, M. 2008. A new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from north-east Queensland, Australia. Zootaxa 1788: 21–36 - get paper here
  • HOSKIN, CONRAD J. 2019. Description of three new velvet geckos (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from inland eastern Australia, and redescription of Oedura monilis De Vis. Zootaxa 4683 (2): 242–270 - get paper here
  • HOSKIN, CONRAD J.; STEPHEN M. ZOZAYA, ERIC VANDERDUYS 2018. A new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from sandstone habitats of inland north Queensland, Australia. Zootaxa 4486 (2): 101–114 - get paper here
  • Laube, A. & Langner, C. 2007. Die “Geckos” Australiens. Draco 8 (29): 4-21 - get paper here
  • Laube, A. & Langner, C. 2007. Australische Samtgeckos. Die Gattung Oedura. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 64 pp. - get paper here
  • Murphy, Michael J. and Jessica K. Murphy 2015. Survey of the reptiles and amphibians of Merriwindi State Conservation Area in the Pilliga forest of northern inland New South Wales. Australian Zoologist: 37 (4): 517-528 - get paper here
  • Oliver, Paul M.; Aaron M. Bauer, Eli Greenbaum, Todd Jackman, Tara Hobbie 2012. Molecular phylogenetics of the arboreal Australian gecko genus Oedura Gray 1842 (Gekkota: Diplodactylidae): Another plesiomorphic grade? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63 (2): 255-264 - get paper here
  • Pillai, R., Nordberg, E., Riedel, J. & Schwarzkopf, L. 2020. Geckos cling best to, and prefer to use, rough surfaces. Front Zool 17: 32 - get paper here
  • Rösler, H. 2000. Studien an den Begattungsorganen der Geckos (Reptilia: Gekkota) - 3. Die Hemipenismorphologie von Arten der Gattungen Hoplodactylus FITZINGER 1843, Naultinus GRAY 1842, Oedura GRAY 1842, Rhacodactylus FITZINGER 1843 und Strophurus FITZINGER 1843 (Gekkonidae: Diplodactylinae). Gekkota 2: 220-248
  • Rösler, Herbert 2019. Vergleichende Untersuchungen zur extrakorporalen Entwicklung weich- und hartschaliger Eier von Geckos (Squamata: Gekkota): 2. Oedura monilis de Vis, 1887 (Diplodactylidae). Sauria 41 (2): 15-20 - get paper here
  • Schmida, G. 2000. Exkursionen bei Mackay und Proserpine. DATZ 53 (9): 8-12
  • Schmida, G. 2007. Betrachtungen zu den australischen Samtgeckos der Gattung Oedura. Draco 8 (29): 22-30 - get paper here
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator