Tarentola mauritanica
| Moorish gecko | |
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| Genus: | Tarentola
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| Species: | T. mauritanica
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| Binomial name | |
| Tarentola mauritanica Linnaeus, 1758
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The Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica Linneus 1758), also known as Salamanquesa or Crocodile gecko, is a small kind of gecko that lives in most countries of the Mediterranean area but, can be found in some parts of California.
Description
Adults can measure up to 15 cm, tail included. Robust body and flat head. Back, legs and tail with prominent conic tubercles. Its regenerated tail is smoother and doesn't have tubercles. Obtuse mouth, big eyes with no eyelids and vertical pupil. Fingers with big lateral growths and adherent division less laminae in the bottom face. Only the third and forth fingers end in union. Brownish grey or brown coloration with darker or lighter spots. These colours change in intensity according to the light. When they are active by day their colour is darker than during the night. It can be found on many construction sites, ruins, rock fields, tree trunks, etc.
Biology
Mainly nocturnal or crepuscular. Also active during the day, on sunny days at the end of the winter especially. They like to receive sunlight near their refuge. They hunt insects and in the warmer months of the year it can be found hunting nocturnal insects near light sources, street lamps, etc. They lay 2 almost-spherical eggs twice a year around April and June. After 4 months, little salamanquesas of less than 5 cm in length are born. Moorish geckos are slow to mature, taking 4 to 5 years in captivity.
