House Gecko

This genus was originally established by Lorenz Oken in 1817 for the species at that time known as Hemidactylus tuberculosus, and now described as the tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia).

The origin of the genus Hemidactylus is still unclear as the higher level phylogeny is not well resolved. Moreover, much of the diversity in this group still remains to be discovered.

A house gecko will usually confine its excretions to one area of a house. This is sometimes considered a nuisance by home owners, and may stain certain surfaces. The feces are approximately five (5) millimeters in length, two (2) millimeters wide, and dark brown (almost black) in color.

Like many other gecko species, species in the genus Hemidactylus are able to communicate with distinct vocalizations. Depending on the species, their vocalizations range from quiet clicks to short squeaks and chirps. For example, the Asian common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is notable for its distinctive chirping.

]] ]] (H. frenatus) in Chennai, India]] ]] (H. giganteus) from Dindigul (Tamil Nadu, India)]] ]] ]] ]] (H. turcicus)]] ]] *Hemidactylus aaronbaueri Giri, 2008 – Aaron Bauer's house gecko *Hemidactylus acanthopholis Mirza & Sanap, 2014 *Hemidactylus achaemenidicus *Hemidactylus adensis Šmíd et al., 2014 *Hemidactylus aemulus Kumar, A. Srinivasulu & C. Srinivasulu, 2022 *Hemidactylus afarensis – Afar gecko *Hemidactylus agrius Vanzolini, 1978 – country leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus albituberculatus J.-F. Trape, 2012 *Hemidactylus albivertebralis J.-F. Trape & Böhme, 2012 *Hemidactylus albofasciatus Grandison & Soman, 1963 – white-striped viper gecko *Hemidactylus albopunctatus Loveridge, 1947 – white-spotted gecko, white-spotted leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus alfarraji Šmid, Shobrak, Wilms, Joger & Carranza, 2016 *Hemidactylus alkiyumii Carranza & Arnold, 2012 *Hemidactylus almakhwah Šmíd, Uvizl, Shobrak, Busais, Salim, R. Algethami, A. Algethami, Alanazi, Alsubaie, Rovatsos, Nováková, Mazuch & Carranza, 2022 *Hemidactylus angulatus Hallowell, 1854 *Hemidactylus ansorgii Boulenger, 1901 – Nigerian leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus aporus Boulenger, 1906 – Annobon leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus aquilonius McMahan & Zug, 2007 *Hemidactylus arnoldi Lanza, 1978 – Arnold's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus asirensis Šmid, Shobrak, Wilms, Joger & Carranza, 2016 *Hemidactylus awashensis Šmíd et al., 2014 *Hemidactylus barbierii Sindaco, Razzetti & Ziliani, 2007 *Hemidactylus barbouri Loveridge, 1942 – Barbour’s leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus barodanus Boulenger, 1901 – enigmatic gecko *Hemidactylus bavazzanoi Lanza, 1978 – Somali banded gecko, Bavazzano’s gecko *Hemidactylus bayonii Bocage, 1893 – Barboza's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus benguellensis Bocage, 1893 – Benguela house gecko *Hemidactylus beninensis Bauer, Tchibozo, Pauwels & Lenglet, 2006 *Hemidactylus biokoensis Wagner, Leaché & Fujita, 2014 – Bioko leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus boavistensis Boulenger, 1906 – Boa Vista leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus bouvieri (Bocourt, 1870) – Bouvier's leaf-toed gecko, Cape Verde leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus bowringii (Gray, 1845) – Oriental leaf-toed gecko, Bowring's gecko, Sikkimese dark-spotted gecko, Asian smooth gecko *Hemidactylus brasilianus Amaral, 1935 – Amaral's Brazilian gecko *Hemidactylus brookii Gray, 1845 – Brooke's house gecko, spotted house gecko *Hemidactylus carivoensis Lobón-Rovira, Conradie, Iglesias, R. Ernst, L. Veríssimo, Baptista & Pinto, 2021 *Hemidactylus chikhaldaraensis Agarwal, Bauer, Giri & Khandekar, 2019 – Chikhaldara brookiish gecko *Hemidactylus chipkali Mirza & Raju, 2017 – Central Indian leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus cinganji Lobón-Rovira, Conradie, Iglesias, R. Ernst, L. Veríssimo, Baptista & Pinto, 2021 *Hemidactylus citernii Boulenger, 1912 – speedy leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus coalescens Wagner, Leaché & Fujita, 2014 *Hemidactylus craspedotus Mocquard, 1890 – Mocquard's house gecko, frilled gecko, frilled house gecko *Hemidactylus curlei Parker, 1942 – Parker's gecko, northern leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus dawudazraqi Moravec, Kratochvíl, Amr, Jandzik, Šmíd & Gvoždík, 2011 *Hemidactylus depressus Gray, 1842 – Sri Lankan leaf-nosed gecko, Kandyan gecko *Hemidactylus dracaenacolus Rösler & Wranik, 1999 *Hemidactylus easai S. Das, Pal, Siddharth, Palot, Deepak & Narayanan, 2022 *Hemidactylus echinus O'Shaughnessy, 1875 – hedgehog leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus endophis Carranza & Arnold, 2012 *Hemidactylus eniangii Wagner, Leaché & Fujita, 2014 *Hemidactylus farasani Šmíd, Uvizl, Shobrak, Busais, Salim, R. Algethami, A. Algethami, Alanazi, Alsubaie, Rovatsos, Nováková, Mazuch & Carranza, 2022 – Farasan gecko *Hemidactylus fasciatus Gray, 1842 – banded leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus faustus Lobón-Rovira, Conradie, Iglesias, R. Ernst, L. Veríssimo, Baptista & Pinto, 2021 *Hemidactylus festivus Carranza & Arnold, 2012 *Hemidactylus flavicauda Lajmi, Giri, Singh & Agarwal, 2020 – Mahabubnagar yellow-tailed brookiish gecko *Hemidactylus flaviviridis Rüppell, 1835 – yellow-bellied gecko, northern house gecko *Hemidactylus forbesii Boulenger, 1899 – Socotra leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus foudaii S. Baha El Din, 2003 *Hemidactylus fragilis Calabresi, 1915 *Hemidactylus frenatus Schlegel, 1836 – common house gecko, Asian house gecko, Pacific house gecko *Hemidactylus funaiolii Lanza, 1978 – Archer's post gecko, Kenya leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus garnotii A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836 – Indo-Pacific gecko, Garnot's house gecko, fox gecko, Assam greyish-brown gecko *Hemidactylus giganteus Stoliczka, 1871 – giant leaf-toed gecko, giant southern tree gecko, giant gecko *Hemidactylus gleadowi Murray, 1884 – Gleadow's house gecko *Hemidactylus gracilis Blanford, 1870 – graceful leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus gramineus Ceríaco, Bauer, Kusamba, Agarwal & Greenbaum, 2021 *Hemidactylus granchii Lanza, 1978 – Granchi's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus graniticolus Agarwal, Giri & Bauer, 2011 *Hemidactylus granosus Heyden, 1827 *Hemidactylus granti Boulenger, 1899 – Grant's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus greeffii Bocage, 1886 – Greeff's gecko, Greeff's giant gecko *Hemidactylus gujaratensis Giri, Bauer, Vyas & S. Patil, 2009 – Gujarat gecko *Hemidactylus hajarensis Carranza & Arnold, 2012 *Hemidactylus hegdei Pal & Mirza, 2022 *Hemidactylus hemchandrai Dandge & Tiple, 2015 *Hemidactylus homoeolepis Blanford, 1881 – Arabian leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus hunae Deraniyagala, 1937 – spotted giant gecko *Hemidactylus imbricatus Bauer et al., 2008 – carrot-tailed viper gecko *Hemidactylus inexpectatus Carranza & Arnold, 2012 *Hemidactylus inintellectus Sindaco, Ziliani, Razzetti, Pupin, Grieco, 2009 – Socotran rock gecko *Hemidactylus isolepis Boulenger, 1895 – scaly leaf-toed gecko, uniform-scaled gecko *Hemidactylus ituriensis Schmidt, 1919 – Ituri leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus jubensis Boulenger, 1895 – Ethiopian gecko, Mrioen leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus jumailiae Busais & Joger, 2011 *Hemidactylus kamdemtohami Bauer & Pauwels, 2002 – Kamdem Toham's gecko *Hemidactylus kangerensis Mirza, Bhosale & R. Patil, 2017 *Hemidactylus karenorum (Theobald, 1868) – Burmese spotted gecko, Burmese leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus kimbulae Amarasinghe, Karunarathna, P. Campbell, Madawala & de Silva, 2021 *Hemidactylus klauberi Scortecci, 1948 *Hemidactylus kolliensis Agarwal, Bauer, Giri & Khandekar, 2019 – Kolli rock gecko *Hemidactylus kundaensis Chirio & J.-F. Trape, 2012 *Hemidactylus kushmorensis Murray, 1884 – Kushmore house gecko *Hemidactylus kyaboboensis Wagner, Leaché & Fujita, 2014 *Hemidactylus laevis Boulenger, 1901 – common leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus lamaensis Ullenbruch, Grell & Böhme, 2010 *Hemidactylus lankae Deraniyagala, 1953 – termite hill gecko, Sri Lankan leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus lanzai *Hemidactylus laticaudatus L.G. Andersson, 1910 – Andersson's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus lavadeserticus Moravec & Bohme, 1997 – Syrian house gecko *Hemidactylus lemurinus Arnold, 1980 – Dhofar leaf-toed gecko, Oman ghost leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus leschenaultii A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836 – Leschenault's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus longicephalus Bocage, 1873 *Hemidactylus lopezjuradoi Arnold, Vasconcelos, Harris, Mateo & Carranza, 2008 (formerly in H. bouvieri) *Hemidactylus luqueorum Carranza & Arnold, 2012 *Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) – tropical house gecko, Afro-American house gecko, cosmopolitan house gecko *Hemidactylus macropholis Boulenger, 1896 – Boulenger’s gecko, large-scaled leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus maculatus A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1836 – spotted leaf-toed gecko, giant spotted gecko *Hemidactylus mahonyi Adhikari, Achyuthan, Kumar, Khot, Shreeram & Ganesh, 2022 *Hemidactylus makolowodei Bauer, LeBreton, Chirio, Ineich & Talla Kouete, 2006 *Hemidactylus malcolmsmithi (Constable, 1949) – Malcolm's bow-fingered gecko, *Hemidactylus pseudoromeshkanicus *Hemidactylus puccionii Calabresi, 1927 – Zanzibar leaf-toed gecko, Somali plain gecko *Hemidactylus pumilio Boulenger, 1899 – pygmy leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus quartziticolus *Hemidactylus raya Kumar, A. Srinivasulu & C. Srinivasulu, 2022 *Hemidactylus reticulatus Beddome, 1870 – reticulated leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus richardsonii Gray, 1845 – Richardson's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus rishivalleyensis Agarwal, Thackeray & Khandekar, 2020 – Rishi Valley rock gecko *Hemidactylus robustus Heyden, 1827 – Heyden's gecko *Hemidactylus romeshkanicus Torki, 2011 *Hemidactylus ruspolii Boulenger, 1896 – farm leaf-toed gecko, Ruspoli's gecko, turnip-tailed black and yellow gecko *Hemidactylus saba Busais & Joger, 2011 *Hemidactylus sahgali Mirza, Gowande, R. Patil, Ambekar & Patel, 2018 – Sahgal’s termite hill gecko *Hemidactylus sankariensis Agarwal, Bauer, Giri & Khandekar, 2019 – Sankari brookiish gecko *Hemidactylus sassanidianus *Hemidactylus sataraensis Giri & Bauer, 2008 – Satara gecko *Hemidactylus saxicolus Kumar, A. Srinivasulu & C. Srinivasulu, 2022 *Hemidactylus scabriceps (Annandale, 1906) – scaly gecko *Hemidactylus shihraensis Busais & Joger, 2011 *Hemidactylus sinaitus Boulenger, 1885 – Red Sea gecko, Sinai leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus sirumalaiensis Khandekar, Thackeray, Pawar & Agarwal, 2020 *Hemidactylus siva C. Srinivasulu, A. Srinivasulu & Kumar, 2018 – Hampi rock gecko *Hemidactylus smithi Boulenger, 1895 – Smith's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus somalicus Parker, 1932 – Northern Somali leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus squamulatus Tornier, 1896 – Tornier's leaf-toed gecko, Nyika gecko *Hemidactylus srikanthani Adhikari, Achyuthan, Kumar, Khot, Shreeram & Ganesh, 2022 *Hemidactylus stejnegeri Ota & Hikida, 1989 – Stejneger's leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus subtriedrus Jerdon, 1854 – Jerdon's gecko, Madras blotched gecko *Hemidactylus sushilduttai Giri, Bauer, Mohapatra, C. Srinivasulu & Agarwal, 2017 – Dutta Mahendragiri gecko *Hemidactylus tamhiniensis Khandekar, Thackeray & Agarwal, 2021 – Tamhini giant rock gecko, basalt giant rock gecko *Hemidactylus tanganicus Loveridge, 1929 – Tanzanian leaf-toed gecko, Tanzanian diamond gecko, Dutumi gecko *Hemidactylus tasmani Hewitt, 1932 – Tasmanian leaf-toed gecko *Hemidactylus taylori Parker, 1932 *Hemidactylus tenkatei Lidth de Jeude, 1895 *Hemidactylus thayene McMahan & Zug, 2007 *Hemidactylus treutleri Mahony, 2009 – Treutler's gecko *Hemidactylus triedrus (Daudin, 1802) – termite hill gecko, Dakota's leaf-toed gecko, blotched house gecko *Hemidactylus tropidolepis Mocquard, 1888 – Mocquard's leaf-toed gecko, Ogaden gecko *Hemidactylus turcicus Linnaeus, 1758 – Mediterranean house gecko, Turkish gecko *Hemidactylus ulii Šmíd, Moravec, Kratochvil, Gvozdik, Nasher, Busais, Wilms, Shobrak & Carranza, 2013 *Hemidactylus vanam Chaitanya, Lajmi & Giri, 2018 – Megamalai rock gecko *Hemidactylus varadgirii Chaitanya, Agarwal, Lajmi & Khandekar, 2019 – Giri’s brookiish gecko, Amboli brookiish gecko *Hemidactylus vernayi Ceríaco, Agarwal, Marques & Bauer, 2020 – Vernay’s tropical gecko *Hemidactylus vietnamensis Darevsky, Kupriyanova & Roshchin, 1984 – Vietnam leaf-toed gecko, Vietnam house gecko *Hemidactylus vijayraghavani Mirza, 2018 *Hemidactylus whitakeri Mirza, Gowande, R. Patil, Ambekar & Patel, 2018 – Whitaker’s termite hill gecko *Hemidactylus xericolus Lajmi, Giri, Singh & Agarwal, 2020 – Nalgonda yellow-tailed brookiish gecko *Hemidactylus yajurvedi Murthy, Bauer, Lajmi, Agarwal & Giri, 2015 – Kanker rock gecko *Hemidactylus yerburyi J. Anderson, 1895 – Yerbury’s gecko, Yerburi’s leaf-toed gecko * Hemidactylus aravalliensis * Hemidactylus kalinga * Hemidactylus amarasinghei * Hemidactylus gubanensis * Hemidactylus huluul

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