List of geckos of New Zealand facts for kids
New Zealand is home to many types of geckos. Scientists have found about 48 different kinds, but they are still discovering more! All these geckos live only in New Zealand, making them very special. They belong to a gecko family called Diplodactylidae, which is also found in Australia and New Caledonia.
What makes New Zealand geckos super unique is that they give birth to live babies, usually twins! Most other geckos around the world lay eggs. Only a couple of other gecko types in New Caledonia do this too.
New Zealand geckos are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. They mostly hunt insects like flies, spiders, moths, and crickets. But depending on the time of year, they also enjoy eating flowers, fruits (like from the mahoe tree), or sweet nectar from flax flowers.
Sadly, geckos are sometimes taken illegally from the wild to be sold as pets. This is very harmful to these special animals.
Types of New Zealand Geckos
New Zealand has many different kinds of geckos. Scientists are always learning more about them and sometimes discover new species! Here are some of the geckos found in New Zealand:
- Dactylocnemis pacificus – Pacific gecko
- Hoplodactylus duvaucelii – Duvaucel's gecko
- Mokopirirakau cryptozoicus – Tākitimu gecko
- Mokopirirakau galaxias – hura te ao gecko
- Mokopirirakau kahutarae – black-eyed gecko
- Mokopirirakau granulatus – forest gecko
- Mokopirirakau nebulosus – cloudy gecko
- Naultinus elegans – Auckland green gecko
- Naultinus flavirictus – Aupouri green gecko
- Naultinus gemmeus – jewelled gecko
- Naultinus grayii – Northland green gecko
- Naultinus manukanus – Marlborough green gecko
- Naultinus punctatus – Wellington green gecko
- Naultinus rudis – rough gecko
- Naultinus stellatus – Nelson green gecko
- Naultinus tuberculatus – West Coast green gecko
- Toropuku stephensi – Stephen's Island gecko
- Toropuku inexpectatus – northern striped gecko
- Tukutuku rakiurae – harlequin gecko
- Woodworthia brunnea – Canterbury gecko
- Woodworthia chrysosiretica – gold-striped gecko
- Woodworthia korowai – korowai gecko
- Woodworthia maculata – New Zealand common gecko
A very large gecko called Gigarcanum delcourti was once thought to be from New Zealand. But scientists later found out it was actually from New Caledonia.
Discovering New Gecko Species
The number of gecko species in New Zealand is still changing. Scientists are always finding new ones! Sometimes, what was thought to be one species turns out to be several different ones. This has happened with the common gecko, Woodworthia maculata. Many new species have also been found high up in the mountains of the South Island.
Scientists are still studying and naming many geckos. Some of these include:
- The Cupola gecko (Mokopirirakau "cupola")
- The Raggedy Range gecko (Woodworthia "Raggedy")
- The Schist gecko (Woodworthia "Central Otago")
- The Kawarau gecko (Woodworthia "Cromwell")
- The Pygmy gecko (Woodworthia "pygmy")
See also
- Wildlife smuggling in New Zealand
- Fauna of New Zealand
