''Paroedura'' (Madagascar ground geckos) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

. These geckos are typically

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

, though the young of most

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

can climb until they are too heavy for their feet to support.

Species

The following 25 species are recognized as being valid. *''

Paroedura androyensis Grandidier's Madagascar ground gecko (''Paroedura androyensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the islan ...

'' – Grandidier's Madagascar ground gecko *''

Paroedura bastardi Mocquard's Madagascar ground gecko (''Paroedura bastardi'') is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family ''Gekkonidae''. It is a moderately-sized reptile reaching just over in snout–vent length. The species is Endemism, endemic to s ...

'' – Mocquard's Madagascar ground gecko *''

Paroedura fasciata ''Paroedura fasciata'' is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller perip ...

'' *''

Paroedura gracilis The graceful Madagascar ground gecko (''Paroedura gracilis'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island o ...

'' – graceful Madagascar ground gecko *''

Paroedura guibeae ''Paroedura guibeae'', Guibé's ground gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species was formerly synonymized with ''Paroedura bastardi'', but a study in 2021 found that it represents a separate species within the species co ...

'' – Guibé's ground gecko *''

Paroedura homalorhina The northern Madagascar ground gecko (''Paroedura homalorhina'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the islan ...

'' – northern Madagascar ground gecko *''

Paroedura hordiesi Hordies' ground gecko (''Paroedura hordiesi'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar an ...

'' – Hordies's ground gecko *''

Paroedura ibityensis The Ibity ground gecko (''Paroedura ibityensis'') is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. Though initially described in 1998 as a subspecies of the Mocquard's Madagascar ground gecko, it has been recognized as a distinct species within ...

'' – Ibity ground gecko *''

Paroedura karstophila ''Paroedura karstophila'' is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is described from Montagne des Français, a karstic limestone massif in the far north of Madagascar recently established as nature reserve. The new species has the no ...

'' *'' Paroedura kloki'' *'' Paroedura lohatsara'' *''

Paroedura maingoka ''Paroedura maingoka'', the scorpion leaf-toed gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. It is endemic to southwest Madagascar, where it occurs on rock outcrops in dry forests and scrubland. It is a nocturnal species, emerging to f ...

'' *'' Paroedura manongavato'' *''

Paroedura masobe ''Paroedura masobe'', also called masobe gecko, is an Endangered species, endangered species of Gekkonidae, gekkonid gecko. They are known for their white-speckled dark skin and big eyes. The average life span of the Paroedura masobe is approxima ...

'' *'' Paroedura neglecta'' *'' Paroedura oviceps'' –

Nosy Be Nosy Be (; formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be, ) is a volcanic island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist destination. It has an area of , and its population was 109,465 according to the provisio ...

ground gecko *'' Paroedura picta'' – ocelot gecko *'' Paroedura rennerae'' *'' Paroedura sanctijohannis'' – Comoro ground gecko *'' Paroedura spelaea'' *'' Paroedura stellata'' *'' Paroedura stumpffi'' *'' Paroedura tanjaka'' *'' Paroedura vahiny'' *'' Paroedura vazimba'' ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Paroedura''.

Species

References

External links

Further reading