Hemidactylus garnotii
Duméril and Bibron, 1836
heh-mee-DAK-til-us — GAR-noh-tee-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Native to southeastern Asia. It is established in Alabama (Powell et al., 2016, Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston), California (Shaw, 1946, Herpetologica 3: 125–126; Kraus, 2009, Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium and Analysis. SpringerVerlag, Heidelberg, Germany; Pauly et al., 2015, Herpetological Review 46: 569), Florida (King and Krakauer, 1966, Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 29: 144–154; Krysko, 2019, Hemidactylus garnotii. Pages 327–329 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida), Georgia (Powell et al., 2016, op. cit.), Hawai'i (Girard, 1858, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 9: 195–199; Hunsaker and Breese, 1967, Pacific Science 21: 423–428; Kraus, 2009, op. cit.), and Texas (Franklin, 1996, Herpetological Review 27: 152; Kraus, 2009, op. cit.). It is parthenogenic (all females). The English name Indopacific Gecko is used by Hedges et al. (2019, Caribbean Herpetology (67): 1–53).
(Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Errata/Changes: Page 78: Add Tennessee (Niemiller and Glorioso. Tennessee Herpetological Society Newsletter 2010(Fall):8) to the states H. garnotii is established. — (4/9/2025); The (Kraus, 2009) reference should be "Kraus, 2009, Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium and Analysis. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands". — (06/11/2025)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.04.02.14.44.10)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.97 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for a noted scientiest.
Hemidactylus — From Greek meaning “half-toed.”
garnotii — Patronym honoring Prosper Garnot (1794–1838), French naturalist and surgeon.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Indopacific Gecko (Hemidactylus garnotii: Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist
and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and
reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
|
1836
|
Dumeril, A. M. Constant and Gabriel Bibron. Erpetologie Generale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete Des Reptiles. Tome Troisieme. [General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of Reptiles. Volume Three.] Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret, Paris, France. 517pp.
|
|
1993
|
Crawford, Daniel M., and Louis A. Somma. Hemidactylus garnotii (Indo-Pacific gecko). USA: Florida. Herpetological Review 24(3):108-109
|
|
2000
|
Meshaka, Walter E., Jr. Colonization dynamics of two exotic geckos (Hemidactylus garnotii and H. mabouia) in Everglades National Park. Journal of Herpetology 34(1):163-168
|
|
2010
|
Niemiller, Matthew L. and Brad M. Glorioso. The Indo-Pacific Gecko (Hemidactylus garnotii) in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Tennessee Herpetological Society Newsletter 2010(Fall):8
|
|
2019
|
Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist
and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and
reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53
|