EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

House Gecko Top and Bottom

Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia), Family Gekkonidae
Njobvu, Malawi

Explanation:  Not quite an x-ray, this flip-flop image is of a tropical house gecko clinging to the window screen of my hut in Malawi, east Africa.  
  

  
Tropical house geckoes are common commensals in houses and habitations throughout sub-Saharan east Africa.  They consume moths, beetles, cockroaches, and other insect pests, so are welcome home buddies.  

  
The species is noted by its flared toes, apparent in these photos.  The toes have retractable claws, an interesting and somewhat cat-like feature.  They vary a lot in color, but the tail often has dark cross-bars, also shown in these photos. 

Tropical house geckoes are largely nocturnal, and exude an odd clicking vocalization.   

Males are territorial.  
  

Information:
     Branch, B. 1998. Field guide to snakes and other reptiles of southern Africa. Ralph Curtis Books, Sanibel Island, Florida. 399 pp.
     Branch, B. 2005. Snakes other reptiles and amphibians of east Africa. Stuik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 144 pp.
     Spawls, S., K. M. Howell, and R. C. Drewes. 2006. Reptiles and amphibians of East Africa. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford. 240 pp.