The jewelled gecko (Naultinus gemmeus ) is a threatened species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand.
Subgroups or populations of the jewelled gecko living in Otago, Canterbury, and Southland can be distinguished by their colour and marking. Male Canterbury jewelled geckos tend to be grey or brown with yellow, purple and white rows of stripes or diamonds. Otago jewelled gecko populations are often green with yellow and white markings, and Southland jewelled geckos are usually solid green.
The jewelled gecko eats a wide variety of insects and moths. It also eats berries and, more rarely, nectar.
The jewelled gecko and other New Zealand geckos are highly protected and it is illegal to capture or disturb them. The jewelled gecko is often targeted by wildlife smugglers.
Di
DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
An omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withNaultinus gemmeus has a bright to olive green body with either stripes or a pattern of diamonds on its back, a pattern which has given the species its common name, and is an important identifying feature. Colors often seen in the stripes or diamond shapes are white, pale green, or yellow. Those colors are often outlined by black or dark brown. The underbelly is usually a pale greenish yellow or gray and can sometimes have stripes or streaks too. There appear to be some differences in looks between the Otago and Canterbury subgroups of the jewelled gecko, as well as between the males and females. For both the Otago and Canterbury subgroups it seems that the females are more likely to have a jewelled pattern, while the males have stripes or no pattern. For the Otago subgroup the mouth of the jewelled gecko typically has a lining of deep blue color and a blackish tongue, whilst the Canterbury subgroup have a mouth lining of pinkish color and a pink or orange tongue. The eye color ranges from brown to olive colored. The jewelled gecko can get to a total length of 18 cm (7.1 in) with the body usually measuring about 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) from snout tip to anus (snout-to-vent length, abbreviated SVL). It can also weigh up to 15 grams (.53 oz) and has a very long life span lasting at least 40 years.
The preferred habitats of the jewelled gecko are diverse woody vegetation, drylands and shrublands. It needs shelter from cold and fires in the landscape, and is therefore dependent on woody forest vegetation. The jewelled gecko is an arboreal, diurnal species, which means it lives in trees and is active during the day. It can live in a wide range of tree and shrub species, like manuka, beech and matagouri. Rocky outcrops and boulder fields also can be suitable habitat for easy escapes from predators.
The jewelled gecko is viviparous. Females typically give birth in autumn, usually a little earlier for Canterbury individuals than the Otago ones. Reproduction happens annually, and pregnancy lasts about seven months. The reproductive cycle of the jewelled gecko consists of vitellogenesis, ovulation and pregnancy, with vitellogenesis starting in autumn after birth and ovulation happening during spring. Each female gives birth to one or two juveniles.
The lifespan of Naultinus gemmeus is unknown. It is thought to live for over 30 years when predation and habitat fragmentation aren't issues, based on the lifespan of other gecko species in the area. Although most geckos endemic to New Zealand are slow growing and can take 2–8 years to reach maturity, the jewelled gecko takes 4 years to reach maturity. Once reaching maturity it gives birth to one to two young each year, and like other endemic New Zealand geckos, it gives birth to live young and doesn't lay eggs. Research has shown that there is a clear seasonal pattern of reproductive activity, ovulation starting in the spring and the gestation period lasting around 7 months, ending with the birth of one to two young. It has been recorded in captive environments that the jewelled gecko mating time is some time between September and October, and the birth time is February to May. This species basks in the sun on top of foliage especially on warm sunny mornings and does this year round. It has been shown that pregnant females are the easiest to find, and this is most likely due to needing the sun more to help development of young.
The jewelled gecko, like other geckos, has a rich diet of insects and berries that come from its habitat of native forest and shrublands. All New Zealand geckos like the jewelled gecko are omnivores and eat a wide variety of insects such as moths and different types of flies, and they also feed on berries from native plants such as those of the genus Coprosma. New Zealand geckos have also been known to feed on the nectar of flowers when available.
In 2012 the Department of Conservation reclassified the jewelled gecko as "At Risk" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. It was judged as meeting the criteria for "At Risk" threat status as a result of it having a low to high ongoing or predicted decline. The jewelled gecko has a status of "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List, caused by several threats such as habitat destruction, degrading and fragmenting through grazing, herbicides and burning, as well as introduced predators.
