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Project Noah Nature School
Hemidactylus frenatus
Known as the Pacific house gecko, the Asian house gecko, or simply, the house lizard, it is the most recently discovered member of a quartet of small, prolific and aggressive lizards (or Gekkonids) that are nocturnal. They can be seen climbing walls of houses and other buildings in search of insects attracted to porch lights, hence their name. Spread around the world by ships, these geckos are now common in the southern half of the United States as well as large parts of Australia. They grow to a length of between three to six inches (about 7.5–15 cm), and live for about five years. A tropical gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus thrives in warm, humid areas where it can crawl around on rotting wood in search of the insects it eats. The animal is very adaptable and may prey on insects and spiders, displacing other reptiles.
That's interesting to know Jason, is it possible they could have travelled across with tourists? When we were staying in Thailand they were in every hotel room or cabin that we stayed in.
That's why I was confused when I saw it! It was in our hotel. Pretty sure it is an invasive.
A quick search did not yield any records of this gecko species in the Galapagos, thought they are quite invasive. Not sure, but this may be an interesting sighting for that reason.
Yes Gecko, we have them here in Turkey also and have seen them in Thailand. I have also heard them referred too as House Gecko's as they tend to live in houses.
Spotted on Mar 13, 2011
Submitted on Mar 21, 2011
