Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) lives in tropical forests across Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, Northern Australia. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
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All mourning geckos are female and reproduce without the need for males, using a parthenogenetic process that bypasses typical sexual reproduction. Occasionally a male may appear, but such individuals are extremely rare and usually sterile, so they do not contribute to the population. Each female produces a small clutch of one to two eggs, which she secures to a hidden surface with a sticky coating.
The mourning gecko occupies a vast coastal belt that stretches across the Indian and Pacific oceans, reaching islands and mainland shores from the Maldives in the west to Fiji in the east. Human activity has carried the species far beyond its native range, establishing populations throughout the Neotropics, including Central and South American countries and the Caribbean.
Measuring just 8.5 to 10 cm in total length, including a tail of about 4 to 4.4 cm, the mourning gecko is a small, cryptically coloured lizard that blends into its environment. Its dorsal surface ranges from light to dark tan with dark spots, and a brown stripe runs from ear to nose, helping it remain unnoticed on bark and rocks.
The mourning gecko feeds on a surprisingly broad menu for a lizard. In its natural habitat it hunts insects, spiders, tiny crustaceans and pill-bugs, while also sipping nectar, pollen and eating fruit. It even consumes its own eggs when the chance arises. When humans provide sweet foods it will readily take jam, sugar, sugary drinks or milk.
All individuals of this species are female and reproduce without fertilisation, using an obligate parthenogenetic system that copies the entire set of chromosomes before meiosis. Males are occasionally found, but they are extremely uncommon and usually sterile, so they do not affect population growth. This chromosome-doubling process allows the gecko to produce viable eggs on its own.
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RangePacific Islands, Southeast Asia, Northern Australia
HabitatTropical forests
DietInsects and fruit
About the Mourning Gecko
In the warm, golden light of a tropical dusk, the Mourning Gecko emerges, its slender form unfolding like a dark, delicate leaf as it navigates the intricate latticework of branches and twigs. With an air of quiet, unhurried purpose, it pads silently through its domain, its large, gem-like eyes drinking in every detail of its surroundings as it searches for the small invertebrates that sustain it. As it moves, its tiny, almost translucent feet barely touch the surface, giving the illusion that it is floating, unmoored, through the shadows.
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