The Belize leaf-toed gecko (''Phyllodactylus insularis'') is a species of gecko native to

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. It is a small, pale, large headed gecko only found on small islands off Belize's coast and was first described by James R. Dixon in 1960. This species is currently classified as " vulnerable" by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

Description

The Belize leaf-toed gecko is a small, pale, large-headed gecko. It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and emerges from under barks and limbs to feed on insects and other arthropods. Like other geckos it has adhesive friction pads on the toes of each foot. The gecko emits a sounds similar to a high pitched squeak or click.

Habitat

The gecko lives in trees and can be found in littoral forests on small islands. It is endemic to lowland Maya forests. Sub-adults are exclusively found under surface objects while adults are found solely on palm trunks.

Distribution

The Belize leaf-toed gecko has been recorded on Half Moon Caye, Long Caye, Twin Cayes, Glover's Reef, Crawl Caye, False Caye, Lagoon Caye, Peter Douglas Caye, Ambergris Caye and West Snake Caye off the coast of Belize.

Elevation

Elevation ranges from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

to 50 meters.

Reproduction

They are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

and typically lay 1 or 2 eggs in a clutch

Predation

''Phyllodactus insularis'' is known to be preyed upon by rats.

Threats

The

reports that habitat destruction caused by tourism development is a threat to this species. It is also threatened by sea level rise and storm surge.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3381895 insularis Reptiles of Belize Endemic fauna of Belize Reptiles described in 1960 Taxa named by James R. Dixon