You are here » home › search results › Gehyra variegata

Gehyra variegata (DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1836)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Gehyra variegata?

Add your own observation of
Gehyra variegata »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Varied Dtella, Tree Dtella 
SynonymHemidactylus Variegatus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 353
Peropus (Dactyloperus) variegatus — FITZINGER 1843
Peripia variegata — GRAY 1845
Gehyra australis GRAY 1845 (partim)
Peropus pusillus COPE 1869: 319
Hemidactylus pusillus — GÜNTHER 1875: 17
Hemidactylus variegatus — SCHMELTZ 1879
Peripia variegata — MÜLLER 1880
Gehyra variegata — BOULENGER 1885: 151 (partim)
Lepidodactylus pusillus — BOULENGER 1885: 167
Gehyra variegata — DE ROOIJ 1915: 43
Peropus variegatus — ZIETZ 1920 (partim)
Peropus variegatus variegatus — LOVERIDGE 1934
Peropus pusillus — LOVERIDGE 1934: 303
Gehyra variegata variegata — MITCHELL 1955
Dactyloperus variegata — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984
Dactyloperus variegatus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985
Dactyloperus lazelli WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 11 (fide SHEA 1999)
Gehyra variegata (?) — KLUGE 1991
Lepidodactylus pusillus — KLUGE 1993
Gehyra variegata — KLUGE 1993
Gehyra variegata — COGGER 2000: 244
Gehyra variegata — WILSON & SWAN 2010 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria,Western Australia)

Type locality: Tasmania, Baie des Chiens marins (now: Shark Bay), Australia; Terre de Van Diemen.

pusillus: Australia; Type locality: SW-Australia (see comment)  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 2295, designated by Wells & Wellington (1983); paralectotypes: MNHN-RA 0254, MNHN-RA 2007.2409 (former MNHN-RA 0254A) and MNHN-RA 2007.2430 (former MNHN-RA 0254B), MNHN-RA 2295 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Distinguished from other Australian Gehyra (except G. versicolor) by a combination of 7 or 8 divided scansors under the expanded portion of the fourth toe, moderate size, generally two pairs of enlarged chin shields, second infralabial notched and a dorsal pattern in which dark lines and white markings coordinate to produce a pattern of dark lines and bars with white trailing edges. Not readily distinguishable by external morphology from G. versicolor sp. nov. (see below), but distinguished karyotypically by the unique 2n=40b arrangement (King 1979). Otherwise most similar to G. montium but distinguished by grey to brown rather than more rufous dorsal colouring, with white markings that form a posterior highlight or margin on the trailing edge of the dark dorsal lines, rather than small poorly contrasting dots that are not coordinated with the dark markings. This diagnosis applies to populations of Gehyra genetically assignable to the “variegata clade” of Sistrom et al. (2013). From Hutchinson et al. 2014. 
CommentGroup: Member of the G. variegata-punctata species complex.

Karyotype: This taxon is apparently a composite of several chromosomally distinct species.

Subspecies: G. (v.) ogasawarisimae is a misidentified speciment of Lepidodactylus lugubris (BAUER & HENLE 1994).

Synonymy: Dactyloperus lazelli WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985 has been removed from the synonymy of G. variegata. The status of Peropus pusillus COPE 1869 is unclear. The description is insufficient to identify the species to which the holotype belongs. Loveridge 1934 (fide Cogger 1983) “rejected type status of MCZ 5725, which had previously been regarded as Cope’s holotype and assigned to Diplodactylus spinigerus. P. pusillus is not listed in Rösler 2000, nor by COGGER 2000.

Abundance: common, with more than 800 specimens collected (Pianka 2011)

Distribution: see map in Kealley et al. 2018: 4 (Fig. 1). Many populations in Western Australia have been split off as separate species by Kealley et al. 2018. NSW populations (like all eastern Australian populations formerly ascribed to variegata) are now G. versicolor. There is an extensive zone in the NT and SA where the identity of the populations as either variegata or versicolor is unknown (G. Shea, pers. comm., 5 March 2021). 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin variegatus (of different sorts, particularly of color), in reference to the variegated pattern. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Andrews, R. M., Brandley, M. C. and Greene, V. W. 2013. Developmental sequences of squamate reptiles are taxon specific. Evolution & Development, 15: 326–343. doi: 10.1111/ede.12042 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Bush, B. 1981. Reptiles of the Kalgoorlie-Esperance Region. B. Bush, Perth, 46 pp - get paper here
  • Bustard, H. Robert 1970. The Role of Behavior in the Nature Regulation of Numbers in the Gekkonid Lizard Gehyra Variegata Ecology 51 (4): 723-728 - get paper here
  • Bustard, H.R. 1965. The systematic status of the Australian geckos Gehyra variegata (Dumeril and Bibron, 1836) and Gehyra australis Gray 1845 Herpetologica 20 (4): 259-272. - get paper here
  • Bustard, H.R. 1965. The systematic status of the Australian gecko Gehyra variegata punctata (Fry) Herpetologica 21 (2): 157-158. - get paper here
  • Bustard, H.R. 1967. Activity Cycle and Thermoregulation in the Australian Gecko Gehyra variegata. Copeia 1967 (4): 753-758 - get paper here
  • CHIACCHIO, MICHELE; ANNEGRET GRIMM-SEYFARTH<br>KLAUS HENLE<br> AND JEAN-BAPTISTE MIHOUB 2020. Water availability as a major climatic driver of taxonomic and functional diversity in a desert reptile community. Ecosphere 11(7):e03190. 10.1002/ecs2.3190 - 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.
  • Cope, E.D. 1869. Observations on Reptiles of the old world. Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1868: 316-323 - get paper here
  • Dawson, W.R., Shoemaker, V.H. and Licht, P. 1966. Evaporative Water Losses of Some Small Australian Lizards. Ecology, 47: 589-594 - get paper here
  • de Rooij, N. de 1915. The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. Leiden (E. J. Brill), xiv + 384 pp. - get paper here
  • Dittmer, D. E., Chapman, T. L. & Bidwell, J. R. 2020. In the shadow of an iconic inselberg: Uluru’s shadow influences climates and reptile assemblage structure at its base. J. Arid Environ. 181, 104179 (2020) - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M. C. and G. Bibron. 1836. Erpetologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete des Reptiles. Vol. 3. Libr. Encyclopédique Roret, Paris, 528 pp. - get paper here
  • Garman, S. 1901. Some reptiles and batrachians from Australasia. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 39: 1-14 - get paper here
  • Goldberg, S.R. 2005. Note on Reproduction of the Tree Dtella, Gehyra variegata (Squamata: Gekkonidae from Western Australia) Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 41(3): 97-100. - get paper here
  • Greenbaum, E. 2000. Herpetofaunal observations in disparate habitats in south Sustralia, New South Wales, and queensland, Australia. Herpetological Bulletin (72): 6-16 - get paper here
  • Grimm-Seyfarth, A., J.-B. Mihoub, and K. Henle. 2019. Functional traits determine the different effects of prey, predators, and climatic extremes on desert reptiles. Ecosphere 10(9):e02865. 10.1002/ecs2.2865 - get paper here
  • Grimm‐Seyfarth, A. , Mihoub, J. , Gruber, B. and Henle, K. 2018. Some like it hot: from individual to population responses of an arboreal arid‐zone gecko to local and distant climate. Ecol Monogr. doi:10.1002/ecm.1301 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1875. A list of the saurians of Australia and New Zealand. Pp. 9-19. In: Richardson, J., and J. E. Gray. The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, during the years 1839 to 1843. By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Vol. 2. E. W. Janson, London - get paper here
  • Gynther, Ian; Harry Hines, Alex Kutt, Eric Vanderduys and Megan Absolon 2009. A verteAbrate faunavsurvey of Cravetns Peak Rbeserver, farawestetrn Qeueenslanfd auna survey of Cravens Peak Reserve, far western Queensland. Cravens Peak Scientific Study Report - 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
  • Hallermann, J. 2020. An annotated list of reptiles and amphibians from the 1905 Hamburg expedition to southwest Australia deposited in the Zoological Museum Hamburg. Evolutionary Systematics 4: 61 - get paper here
  • Henkel,F.W. & Schmidt,W. 1991. Geckos. Biologie, Haltung und Zucht. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart [ISBN 3-8001-7242-9]
  • How, RA, Cowan, MA, Teale, RJ, Schmitt, LH. 2020. Environmental correlates of reptile variation on the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago, eastern Indian Ocean. J Biogeogr. 47: 2017– 2028 - get paper here
  • HUTCHINSON, MARK N.; MARK J. SISTROM, STEPHEN C. DONNELLAN <br>& RHONDA G. HUTCHINSON 2014. Taxonomic revision of the Australian arid zone lizards Gehyra variegata and G. montium (Squamata, Gekkonidae) with description of three new species. Zootaxa 3814 (2): 221–241 - get paper here
  • Kay, G.M.; D. Michael; M. Crane; S. Okada; C. MacGregor; D. Florance; D. Trengove; L. McBurney; D. Blair; D.B. Lindenmayer. 2013. A list of reptiles and amphibians from Box Gum Grassy Woodlands in south-eastern Australia. Check List 9 (3):476-481 - get paper here
  • Kealley, Luke; Paul Doughty, Mitzy Pepper, J. Scott Keogh, Mia Hillyer and Joel Huey 2018. Conspicuously concealed: revision of the arid clade of the Gehyra variegata (Gekkonidae) group in Western Australia using an integrative molecular and morphological approach, with the description of five cryptic species. PeerJ 6:e5334; DOI 10.7717/peerj.5334 - get paper here
  • King, Max 1979. Karyotypic evolution in Gehyra (Gekkonidae: Reptilia) I. The Gehyra variegata-punctata complex. Australian Journal of Zoology 27: 373-393 - get paper here
  • Kinghorn, J. Roy 1924. Reptiles and batrachians from south and south-west Australia. Rec. Austral. Mus. 14 (3): 163-183 - get paper here
  • Kitchener, D.J., R.A. How & J. Dell 1988. Biology of Oedura reticulata and Gehyra variegata (Gekkonidae) in an Isolated Woodland of Western Australia Journal of Herpetology 22 (4): 401-412. - get paper here
  • Kluge, A. G. 1982. The status of the parthenogenetic gekkonid lizard Gehyra variegata ogasawarasimae Okada. Journal of Herpetology 16 (1): 86-87 - get paper here
  • Laube, A. & Langner, C. 2007. Die “Geckos” Australiens. Draco 8 (29): 4-21 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1934. Australian reptiles in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 77: 243-383 - get paper here
  • Maryan, B., Gaikhorst, G., & Parkhurst, B. 2024. The terrestrial herpetofauna of the Zuytdorp coast and hinterland of Western Australia: Exceptional richness in a global biodiversity hotspot. Western Australian Naturalist, 33, 3
  • Michael, D.R.; D.B. Lindenmayer; M. Crane; C. MacGregor; R. Montague-Drake; L. McBurney. 2011. Reptilia, Murray catchment, New South Wales, southeastern Australia. Check List 7 (1):25-29 - get paper here
  • Mitchell, F. J. 1965. Australian geckos assigned to the genus Gehyra Gray (Reptilia, Gekkonidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 46: 287—319
  • Müller, F. 1880. Erster Nachtrag zum Katalog der herpetologischen Sammlung des Basler Museums. Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel 7: 120-165 - get paper here
  • Nakamura K & Uéno SI 1963. Japanese Reptiles and Amphibians in Colour [in Japanese]. Hoikusha, Osaka
  • Pianka, E. R. 1969. Habitat specificity, speciation, and species density in Australian desert lizards. Ecology 50 (3): 498-502 - get paper here
  • Pianka, E. R.; Pianka, H. D. 1976. Comparative ecology of twelve species of nocturnal lizards (Gekkonidae) in the western Australian desert. Copeia 1976 (1): 125-142 - get paper here
  • Sarre, S.D. 1998. Demographics and Population Persistence of Gehyra variegata (Gekkonidae) Following Habitat Fragmentation Journal of Herpetology 32 (2): 153-162. - get paper here
  • Shea, Glenn M; Sadlier, Ross A 1999. A catalogue of the non-fossil amphibian and reptile type specimens in the collection of the Australian Museum: types currently, previously and purportedly present. TECHNICAL REPORTS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM 15, 1999: 1-91 - get paper here
  • SISTROM, M.; EDWARDS, D.L.; DONNELLAN, S.; HUTCHINSON, M. 2012. Morphological differentiation correlates with ecological but not with genetic divergence in a Gehyra gecko. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25 (4): 647-660 - get paper here
  • Sistrom, M.J.; Hutchinson, M.N.; Hutchinson, R.G. & Donnellan, S.C. 2009. Molecular phylogeny of Australian Gehyra (Squamata: Gekkonidae) and taxonomic revision of Gehyra variegata in south-eastern Australia. Zootaxa 2277: 14–32 - get paper here
  • Sistrom, Mark; Steve C. Donnellan, Mark N. Hutchinson 2013. Delimiting species in recent radiations with low levels of morphological divergence: A case study in Australian Gehyra geckos. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68 (1): 135–143 - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1925. Beiträge zur Herpetologie Inner-Australiens. Abhandlungen Herausgegeben von der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 38: 221—251
  • Tan, W. C. and L. E. Schwanz 2015. Thermoregulation across thermal environments in a nocturnal gecko. Journal of Zoology, DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12235 - get paper here
  • Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. 1985. A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplementary Series (1): 1-61 [sometimes cited as 1983] - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Yamashiro, Saiko and Hidetoshi Ota 2005. On the clone type of Lepidodactylus lugubris (Duméril & Bibron, 1836) corresponding to Gehyra variegata ogasawarasimae Okada, 1930 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae). Current Herpetology 24 (2):95-98 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gehyra&species=variegata

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator