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| The Western Banded Gecko, Coleonyx varigatus (Baird, 1859), The top photo was take near Phoenix, Arizona. The middle two photos were taken near Tucson, Arizona, and the bottom photo was a captive animal of unknown origins. Thus it seems likely that the top three specimens can be assigned to the race C. v. bogerti, also known as the Tucson Banded Gecko.
Adults reach 140 mm, and hatchlings are about 55 mm in total length. These nocturnal lizards feed on spiders and insects. They are often associated with rocks, but several of the animals photographed here were found by driving roads. When collected they may give off a sound, similar to other geckos. |
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| Barefoot Banded Gecko, Coleonyx switaki (Murphy, 1974) . Photographs of a captive individual of unknown origin. Adults reach 86 mm in body length. Males develop a bright yellow breeding coloration, a characteristic non known in other eublepharid geckos. It occurs in the desert foothills of Peninsular Ranges of of Baja California, as well in the costal lowlands of Baja. There is also a population in San Diego, Co., California. |
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| The Central American Banded Gecko, Coleonyx mitratus (Peters, 1863). Photograph of a captive animal of unknown origins. This gecko ranges from Guatemala and Honduras to northwestern Costa Rica. Unlike many other eublepharid geckos C. mitrans lives in forest leaf litter. Adults reach a total length of 150 mm. |
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| The Leopard Gecko, Eublepharis macularis (Blyth, 1854). The animals in the photographs are all captive animals. This lizard is popular in the pet trade and is often bred for unusual color and patterns. The top and bottom photos are adults, the middle photo is a juvenile. The leopard gecko occurs in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and northwest India. It inhabits arid grasslands and desert areas. Like other members of the group it hides in burrows during the day, and is active above ground at night. They feed on arthropods and small vertebrates. |
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| Ryukyu Ground Gecko, Goniurosaurus kuroiwae (Namiye, 1912). Photographs of a captive animal, origin unknown. This species occurs in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. It climbs into vegetation (up to 1.8 m) to search for food. Its movements tend to be slow and deliberate like many of the eublepharid geckos. |
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| African Fat-tailed Gecko, Hemitheconyx caudicinctus (A. Dumeril, 1851). Photographs of a captive specimen. H. caudicinctus inhabits West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon. They inhabit dry savanna. Adults reach 200 mm in total length. |
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| The eublepharid geckos are often regarded as a subfamily of Gekkonidae by some authors. There are six genera with about 25 species found in North America, Africa, and Asia. They have moveable eyelids (the condition present in the ancestral gecko), a vertical pupil, lay clutches of two eggs with soft shells, are ground dwellers, and are nocturnal. Eublepharids had a Laurasian origin, compared to the other groups of geckos that likely had a Gondwanaland origin. The Laurasian geckos appear to be relicts of an old, lineage that at some time in the past was more diverse and widespread. Eublepharids apparently represents the oldest radiation of geckos. |
