Unlike our native Kansas lizards, Mediterranean House Geckos have sticky toe pads, vertical pupils, and lack eyelids. Their ground color is light gray to tan and their skin is bumpy. Their head, back, and legs are irregularly covered with small cream to dark brown spots. The spots may form bands across the back. The tail has several dark brown bands that become more distinct toward the tip. The belly is translucent and unmarked.
Adults normally 75-110 mm (4-4¾ inches) in total length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a female (FHSM 12335) from Johnson County with a snout-vent length of 56 mm and a total length of 115 mm (49⁄16 inches) collected by Travis W. Taggart, Dan Murrow, and Chad Whitney on 16 June 2006. The maximum length throughout the range is 127 mm (5 inches) (Powell et al., 2016).
In Kansas, this lizard is known from urban areas in Johnson, Lyon, Harvey, Saline, Douglas, and Sedgwick counties. They have been collected during warm weather around warehouses and hotels. They are likely undetected from many additional localities.
As its name implies, the Mediterranean House Gecko is an old-world species, found in southern Europe and northern Africa. It has been introduced in many areas worldwide and has spread throughout most of the southeastern United States. In almost all areas (except west Texas), this species is associated with human development, and it is seldom found far from buildings.
A single specimen was found in a load of materials delivered to Wyandotte County on 7 May 2020 (Jason Kintner, pers. comm.).
Almost completely nocturnal. Their toe pads allow them to climb walls, where they often perch around outside lights. There they wait to grab small invertebrates. They hide in crevices or behind shutters, moldings, and lights during the day. Females lay several clutches of two white spherical eggs throughout the summer. Currently known only from commercial buildings (most often hotels and distributors) in El Dorado, Emporia, Lenexa, Wichita, Salina, and Newton in Kansas, but they are undoubtedly more widespread.
Female Mediterranean House Geckos lay several clutches of two eggs throughout the summer. Instances of communal nesting have been reported, with several females laying their eggs together under bark, in crevices, or in moist soil.
Females are easily identified in spring and summer by white eggs that can be seen through the translucent skin of the abdomen.
The Mediterranean Gecko was first observed in Kansas by Andrew and Brad Hare on 26 May 2006 (Hare 2006) in Johnson County. The specimen (Sternberg Museum of Natural History [FHSM 12369]) collected by Hare (op. cit.) is the earliest existing from Kansas. The species was subsequently discovered in Douglas (2009), Harvey (2013), Butler (2014), Lyon (2014), Ford (2017), Reno (2017), Saline (2017), Sedgwick (2017), Sumner (2019), Crawford (2020), Nemaha (2020), and Wyandotte (2020) counties.
This species' adaptability has made it a very successful invader. They are transported as eggs or hatched individuals to new areas where they may become established. First reported from south Florida they are now extensively distributed from South Carolina through west Texas and south into Mexico. They are more localized to the north and west. Specimens have been reported as far north as Omaha (NE), Des Moines (IA), Chicago (IL), Toledo (OH), Pittsburg (PA), and Albany (NY).
Mediterranean Geckos are capable of losing their tails to a predator. A new tail will grow back but is discolored (may be darker or lighter), often lack tubercles, and may be appreciably shorter than the original.
Males were significantly larger in head size and weight at a given snout-vent-length.
References
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