The Western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus) is a species of lizard native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico. Five subspecies are recognized. These lizards prefer warm nights around, and they can often be seen near human habitations looking to make an easy meal of the insects attracted to landscape or porch lighting.
The body of the Western banded gecko is sandy-colored with dark crossbands broken into patches. The tiny scales give its skin a silky texture. Unlike typical geckos, it has prominent eyes with movable lids. The males of this species have noticeable spurs on both sides of the body located at the base of the tail.
In the United States, Western banded geckos are found in Arizona, southern California, southwestern New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. In California, they occur in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. In Mexico, they are found in northwestern Baja California and Sonora. Western banded geckos live in a wide range of habitats, including creosote bush and sagebrush desert, pinyon-juniper woodland, and catclaw-cedar-grama grass associations in the eastern part of their range and chaparral areas in the west. They are commonly found in open and arid deserts, grasslands, rocky and sheltered areas, sandy dunes, and arroyos.
Western banded geckos are secretive and nocturnal creatures. They hide during the day and emerge after sunset to forage for food. Western banded geckos are preyed upon by many species and if captured, Western banded geckos may squeak or chirp and discard their tail in an attempt to distract the predator and escape. To deter predation, they can also curl their tail over their body to mimic a scorpion.
Western banded geckos are carnivores (insectivores) and eat small insects, spiders, and scorpions. When hunting a scorpion, Western banded geckos use very fast and precise movements, shaking their heads from side to side, in order to immobilize scorpions caught in their mouths. Researchers believe that this may be done in order to prevent the scorpions from injecting them with their venom.
Western banded geckos breed during April and May. From May through September, the female will lay one to three clutches of eggs. Each clutch of eggs contains 2 eggs which hatch after the incubation period of 45 days. Hatchlings measure 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Western banded geckos are not considered threatened at present but they are losing their habitat due to the development of human settlements.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Western banded gecko total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are stable.
Western banded geckos help control populations of small insects and spiders and are one of the few reptiles that control scorpion populations by eating baby scorpions.
