The yellow-headed dwarf gecko or dwarf yellow-headed gecko (''Lygodactylus luteopicturatus'') is a small species of dwarf gecko found in the rocky areas of southern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, Somalia (maybe as an introduced species), eastern

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

.''Lygodactylus luteopicturatus''
The Reptile Database It can grow up to , but on average attains a length of with a snout-vent (body) length of . The tail length can be equal to the length of the body from snout to the anus (SVL or Snout-Vent Length). In 2004, the species was synonymized with '' Lygodactylus picturatus''. The yellow-headed dwarf gecko has a defense mechanism called tail autotomy, where they drop their tails to flee to safety when they are attacked by a predator. However, tail autotomy only gives the gecko an immediate benefit to escape because an autotomized gecko is slower without its tail and has difficulty running on vertical surfaces. Eggs can be found in places that are secure from predators.

References

* Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. (1991). A checklist of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus, 1: 1—70 * Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. (2001). A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp Lygodactylus Reptiles described in 1964 {{africa-stub