The turnip-tailed gecko (''Thecadactylus rapicauda'') is a species of

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 throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

widely distributed from

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

southward through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and into

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

as far south as

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and on many islands in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

. It was long thought to be the only member of its genus, until '' T. solimoensis'' was described in 2007. It is a large gecko, reaching a length of 120 mm snout-to-vent. Its color varies from pale to dark gray to deep orange. Individuals can also change color. It can vocalize a series of chirps, which it mainly does while active at night. Its name comes from its swollen tail, which is used to store fat. It also waves its tail as a sign of aggression, and can shed its tail to distract predators. They are nocturnal in nature and are frequently found 5–30 feet up the trunks of

palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (b ...

Names

It is called tai-marɛɁa in the

Kwaza language Kwaza (also written as Kwazá or Koaiá) is an endangered Amazonian language spoken by the Kwaza people of Brazil. Kwaza is an unclassified language. It has grammatical similarities with neighboring Aikanã and Kanoê, but it's not yet clear if ...

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso ...

, Brazil.Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira. 2013.
Dicionário da língua Kwazá
'. M.A. dissertation.

Guajará-Mirim Guajará-Mirim is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. It is located at an altitude of 128 meters. Its population was 46,556 (2020) and its area is 24,856 km².IBGE /ref> Location Guajará-Mirim lies along the Mamoré River, j ...

Federal University of Rondônia The Federal University of Rondônia ( pt, Universidade Federal de Rondônia, UNIR) is located in the state of Rondônia, in Brazil. It is the only public university in Rondônia. Campuses The Federal University of Rondônia has 8 campuses locat ...

Predators

These include the phyllostomid bat, '' Choropterus auritus''

Parasites

They include the malarial parasite ''

Plasmodium aurulentum ''Plasmodium anasum'' is a species of the genus '' Plasmodium''. Like all species in this genus it has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate host are reptiles. Description This species was described by Telford in 1971.Telford ...

''.

References

External links

*
Thecadactylus rapicauda
at the

Encyclopedia of Life The ''Encyclopedia of Life'' (''EOL'') is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It is compiled from existing trusted databases curated by experts and with the assistance of no ...

Thecadactylus rapicauda
at the Reptile Database * Geckos

Reptiles of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles described in 1782 Taxa named by Martinus Houttuyn {{gecko-stub