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''Phelsuma astriata'', the Seychelles (small) day gecko or stripeless day gecko is a species of
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...
in the family
Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 64 genera. Members of the Gekkonidae comprise many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos ('' Hemidactylus''), tokay ...
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...
to the
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
. Its natural
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s are subtropical or tropical dry forests,
subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...
, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, subtropical or tropical dry
shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...
,
subtropical or tropical moist shrubland The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north an ...
,
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...
s, rural gardens, and
urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
s. It is threatened by
habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
. It lives in tropical areas. it eats
vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...
s of almost any kind. These geckos possess the significant ability to dramatically change in colour intensity based on the presence or absence of light on or around them. The gecko appears bright green in light, but if kept in a dark place, even for a short period of time, its appearance darkens to an extremely dark green that could easily be mistaken for black when viewed in light. If a light is then shone on the gecko, a visual change seems to occur separately in each scale-like and gradually the entire gecko changes to a bright green in the light over a period of less than 3 minutes. The tail however changes slightly slower. During the change the gecko appears as a mottled bright and dark green simultaneously. See included images taken in Praslin, Seychelles.


Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies of ''Phelsuma astriata''. *''
Phelsuma astriata astriata ''Phelsuma astriata astriata'' is a subspecies of Seychelles small day gecko. It is a small, slender lizard with bright green colour that feeds primarily on insects. It is found on several islands of the Seychelles. Description Its body is ...
'', Found on the islands of Mahé,
Praslin Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying northeast of Mahé in the Somali Sea. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Gra ...
,
Silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
, Thérèse,
Astove Astove Atoll is a large atoll, part of the Aldabra Group, lying in the Outer Islands of Seychelles, with a distance of southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. Alphonse Fishing Company and Blue Safari Seychelles operate from the at ...
, Frégate *'' Phelsuma astriata semicarinata'', northeastern islands of the
Inner Seychelles Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...
,
Denis Island Denis Island is the second northeasternmost island in the Seychelles. It is north of Mahé and lies at the northern edge of the Seychelles bank, along with the nearby Bird Island, which is the northernmost Seychelles island. The coral island w ...
, Daros Island, St. Joseph and
La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
[Mozzi, Déso & Probst, 2005. Un nouveau gecko vert introduit à la Réunion: Le Phelsuma astriata semicarinata (Cheke, 1982). - Bulletin Phaethon 21: 1-4 http://reptilvar.free.fr/Gecko_introduit_Reunion.pdf] (introduced) *''Phelsuma astriata astovei'', Astove


References

4. Observations made by Cheryl Allen on Praslin Island, Seychelles. Phelsuma Endemic fauna of Seychelles Reptiles described in 1901 Taxa named by Gustav Tornier Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{gecko-stub