''Woodworthia maculata'', also known as the New Zealand common gecko or Raukawa gecko, is a species in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Diplodactylidae The Diplodactylidae are a Family (biology), family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 Genus, genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and ...

. The species is endemic to New Zealand.

Taxonomy

The species was first mentioned by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

in 1845 as ''Naultinus maculatus''. Gray's mention lacked a description and referenced manuscript notes, so it is unclear if Gray considered ''N. maculatus'' to be a synonym of '' Naultinus pacificus''. The first formal description of the species was written by

George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...

in 1885, which he described as ''Hoplodactylus maculatus''. Its status as a distinct species was undetermined until 1977. The species was first described as a member of the genus ''

Woodworthia ''Woodworthia'' is a genus of geckos in the family Diplodactylidae endemic to New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Is ...

'' (as ''Woodworthia maculatus'') by herpetologist Tony R. Jewell in ''A Photographic Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of New Zealand'' (2008), a distinction that was supported by phylogenetic analysis of New Zealand gecko species. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''maculata'' means "speckled", referring to the speckled pattern seen on this species.''New Zealand Frogs and Reptiles'', Brian Gill and Tony Whitaker, David Bateman limited, 2001

Description

''W. maculata'' is a small to medium-sized

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 ...

, with an average length of ,Jewell, T. 2008 A photographic guide to reptiles and amphibians of New Zealand. New Holland, Auckland. 144 p. and has a predominant colour of grey or brown. The eyes are a greenish brown, with the snout-to-eye distance slightly longer, or equal to, the eye-to-ear distance. 'The mouth is lined in pink and has a pink tongue with a grey tip. ''W. maculata'' often occupies the same area as a few similar looking geckos; ''

Dactylocnemis pacificus ''Dactylocnemis pacificus'', the Pacific gecko or Pacific sticky-toed gecko, is a species in the family (biology), family Gekkonidae, Endemism, endemic to the North Island and offshore islands of New Zealand. ''D. pacificus'' is the only describ ...

'' and '' W. chrysosireticus''. ''W. maculata'' can be distinguished from ''W. chrysosireticus'' by the lack of black speckles which are seen on ''W. chrysosireticus. W. maculata'' differs from ''D. pacificus'' when looking closely at the nostril. In ''maculata'' the nostril scale is not in contact with the nostril, but in D. ''pacificus'' it is in contact.Bell T (compiler) 2010: NZ Lizards Database Species Synopsis. Common Gecko, Woodworthia maculatus Available: http://herpetology.landcareresearch.co.nz. Accession date: 06/04/2016. Landcare Research NZ Ltd. The species can be distinguished from the

korowai gecko The korowai gecko (''Woodworthia korowai''), also known as the Muriwai gecko, is a gecko found on the west coast of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. First discovered on Oaia Island in 1954, the species was recognised as distinct from ''Woodw ...

due to different ranges, as the korowai gecko is found exclusively on the west coast of the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...

, and due to ''Woodworthia maculata'' having longer

distal phalanges The phalanges (: phalanx ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. Structu ...

. Individuals in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

are often more slender and darker in colour than those in the North Island.

Range

''W. maculata'' can be found in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand, and northern sections of the

. The species is widely distributed in the lower North Island and in the

Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori language, Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the co ...

. Further north, the species is exclusively found on the eastern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast of the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula () on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean ...

and Northland. In addition, the species can be found in many offshore islands of the

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, ...

and

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,

Habitat preferences

''W. maculata'' is terrestrial but is often found in trees, only in forested areas. A study by H. Frank and DJ Wilson (2011) showed that ''W. maculata'' is also commonly found in rocky areas with cracks and crevices, without a permanent shade cover. Few individuals were detected in highly grazed areas with no grass cover remaining. In the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2, Populations which occupy the Cook Strait and nearby mainland's show to be a mix of the common Northern and Southern forms.

Life cycle

''W. maculata'' has been found to have a characteristically long lifespan, with a suggested lifespan of 20 years. Some individuals have been aged at 29 years. A more recent study proposes that the species may live up to 37 years in the wild. It has been suggested that ''W. maculata'' may have a long lifespan to balance their slow reproductive rate.

Diet

Geckos have a simple diet of live insects and smaller organisms. The diet of a gecko includes, but is not limited to,

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

isopoda Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both aquatic species and terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed l ...

moths Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (suborder Rhopalocera) a ...

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s and

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s. As expected, due to an individual's size and preference, the diet has a lot of variation. In other gecko species, the tail acts as a storage organ which can hold reserves of fat which the individual can use in times of food scarcity. Most gecko species cannot digest leaves and other tough plant material easily, however ''W. maculata'' and other New Zealand gecko species feed off plant material that is easily digestible and high in energy like

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

, sap or fruit. Mainland geckos are commonly preyed on invasive species such as

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

s and

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s. On off-shore islands where these invasive species are not present, the

morepork The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), better known as the morepork owl, and also known by numerous other onomatopoeic names (such as boobook, mopoke or ruru), is a smallish, brown owl species found in New Zealand, and to the northwest, on No ...

is considered the main predator. Rodents will eat both the adult gecko and their young. Although ''W. maculata'' are too small to fight them off, their heads are too big to fit in gaps small enough in which they would be safe from the predator.

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

found that ''W. maculata'' reproduces annually and has evidence to suggest that some populations may be reproducing biannually. Cree also recognised that on average, each female produces less than 2 offspring per year and are slow to mature.

Conservation status

As of 2021, the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the common gecko as Not Threatened under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

References

External links

Raukawa gecko
at New Zealand Herpetological Society {{Taxonbar, from=Q21300788, from2=Q3017894 Woodworthia Endemic fauna of New Zealand Reptiles described in 1845 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Endemic reptiles of New Zealand