Reptiles and Amphibians

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Sal@mander.xyz

Who am I? Found in a botanical tropical garden in England. Not native, of course. (mander.xyz)

submitted 1 year ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/herpetology@mander.xyz

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[–] Sal@mander.xyz 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Uff, non-native makes this very tough 😅

In the Gekko family, for sure.

I think it is in the house gecko genus (Hemidactylus). It resembles images of Hemidactylus platyurus, but the pattern in your image is a bit more broken than in many of the images that I can find. The whites look whiter in your image. This might be due to the light, white balance, and true color variability. So it is a tough call!

If it is indeed this species then it could have come hidden in a plant that came from a nursery in Florida (where it is invasive) or somewhere in Asia (where it is native).

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

He lives in a giant biodome and was likely placed there on purpose. :) They've got all sorts of little critters in there that you can occasionally stumble into. A house variety seems fitting.

[–] Sal@mander.xyz 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ooh, that changes things. I was thinking along the lines of what might have accidentally gotten there. But if it was put there in purpose then that opens up all kinds of exotic geckos. Was this biome associated with plants of some specific area of the world? Or just general tropical?

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

General tropical! It's got different areas in different sections. It's called the Eden Project!

[–] Sal@mander.xyz 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Wow, that is a very cool project. I had never heard of this! I will go check it out one day ^_^

Looking into it... I do think it is a Hemidactylus platyurus that was introduced by accident with the plants when the Eden Project started.

The gecko you have encountered could be a descendant of Tommy, the first wildlife guest: https://www.eden-project.co.uk/tommy.htm

I found a few other encounters with what appears to be the family and friends of this gecko, also at the Eden Project:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hh27/6283695173

https://twitter.com/edenproject/status/979433244394434560

https://twitter.com/EdenProject/status/886314632784293891

https://twitter.com/EdenProject/status/1484949097215897608

Comparing the Flickr image with this image of Hemidactylus platyurus, and to other images I can find online, I think that it is a very close match....

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Haha! Amazing! He was in the lower tropics by a waterfall. They're actually opening up Edens around the world!!

https://www.edenproject.com/new-edens

[–] Sal@mander.xyz 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Oh cool! England is the closest to me at the moment, though :p

Found some sources that claim the species is Hemidactylus mabouia and that they were introduced on purpose for pest control. That is not unlikely, but I can't an official document or statement from The Eden Project describing the species that they introduced on purpose!

https://twitter.com/Cercopithecid10/status/1524694286813605888

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/green-anole-10-july-2018-at-the-eden-project.406325/

(And, sorry for all of these Twitter links that are now hardly accessible without an account 😠 )

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know there is a display with plastic replicas of the domes denziens. I'll have to take a closer look next time as it's a local favourite spot. :) The articles I was poking around at were very generalist and you dug up way more than me.

[–] Sal@mander.xyz 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hahaha, please report back when you do! 😜

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

Will do!!

[–] tchotchony@mander.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

If it's in a biodome, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to give you a bit more information if you mail them your question. Please report back with the reply!

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

"I AM THE RUST."