McMartinVille--Reptiles

 
NO NEED FOR A CAR, CLICKED YER MOUSE... AND HERE YOU ARE! "McMartinVille"
 

Tucson Banded Gecko

Order:  Squamata (scaled reptiles)
Suborder:  Lacertilia (=Sauria; lizards)
Family:  Gekkonidae (geckos)
Subfamily:  Eublepharinae (geckos with eyelids)
Genus:  Coleonyx (banded geckos)
Also known as:  Western banded gecko (generic name for all subspecies of Coleonyx variegatus)

Scientific Name:  Coleonyx variegatus bogerti Klauber, 1945

Habitat:  Rocky areas, cliffs, washes, and dunes.

Koleos="covered," onyx="claw," variegatus="of different colors," bogerti honoring Charles M. Bogert, previous AMNH herpetology curator.

Length:  to 6 inches total.
Food:  Small insects and spiders. Banded Gecko Range

Banded geckos are one of the few types of lizards you will see at night. Most desert lizards are active during the day, but geckos and night lizards (Xantusia) are nocturnal. These lizards are most often encountered on the roads at night. They utilize the heat of the roads to warm themselves before searching for food. Geckos are unique in that they can vocalize--while some tropical species can bark loudly, the most that banded geckos can muster are small chirps and squeaks.

Tucson Banded Gecko
I found these geckos on a trip to Phoenix and Tucson in June 1999. At only 4 to 6 inches long, they're very hard to spot going down the road at 40 mph! One specimen I examined squeaked . He also held his tail high and waved it slowly, to attract attention towards the detachable tail rather than his head. That way, a potential predator will attack the tail which falls off easily, while the gecko makes its escape.