THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Gekkonidae  

Mediterranean Gecko
Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Current SSAR Comments:
Native to the Mediterranean region. It was introduced in 24 states (Kraus, 2009, Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium and Analysis. SpringerVerlag, Heidelberg, Germany) and established in Alabama (Mount, 1975, The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. 347 pp.), Arizona (Robinson and Romack, 1973, Journal of Herpetology. 7: 311–312), Arkansas (Paulissen and Buchanan, 1990, Herpetological Review 21: 22), California (Beaman, 2005, Herpetological Review 36: 79), Florida (Fowler, 1915, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 67: 244–269 (a H. mabouia); Barbour, 1936, Copeia 1936: 113; King and Krakauer, 1966, Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 29: 144–154; Krysko, 2019, Hemidactylus turcicus. Pages 333–335 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida), Georgia (Bechtel, 1983, Herpetological Review 14: 27–28), Illinois (McDowell et al., 2006, Herpetological Review 37: 495), Kansas (Hare, 2006, Journal of Kansas Herpetology : 9), Kentucky (Krusling and Mitchell, 2013, Herpetological Review 44: 107), Louisiana (Etheridge, 1952, Copeia 1952: 47–48), Maryland (Norden and Norden, 1991, The Maryland Naturalist 33: 57–58), Mississippi (Keiser, 1984, Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences. 29: 17–18), Missouri (Bufalino, 2004, Herpetological Review 35: 188), Nevada (Saethre and Medica, 1993, Herpetological Review 24: 154–155), New Mexico (Painter et al., 1992,Herpetological Review 23: 62), North Carolina (Beane, 2019, Herpetological Review 50: 538–542), Oklahoma (Lardie, 2001, Herpetological Review 32: 119), Pennsylvania (Ruhe et al., 2019, Herpetological Review 50: 536–537), South Carolina (Eason and McMillan, 2000, Herpetological Review 31: 53), South Dakota (Platt et al., 2008, Herpetological Review 39: 238), Tennessee (Hively, 2015, Herpetological Review 46: 59), Texas (Conant, 1955, American Museum Novitates (1726): 1–6), Utah (Reed et al., 2006, Herpetological Review 37: 106.), and Virginia (Kleopfer et al., 2006, Herpetological Review 37: 106–107; Swartwout et al., 2014, Herpetological Review 45: 92).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.03.14.41.45)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.97 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Warty Gecko (Gecko verrucosus: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); House Gecko (Lacerta gecko: Griffith, Edward and Edward Pidgeon. 1831. The class reptilia arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with specific descriptions. Part 2. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London. 1-481pp.); Turkish Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Turkish Gecko (Hemidactylus turcisus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1758 Linné, Carl von (=Linneaus). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. [System of Nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera, species with characters, differences, synonyms, places.] 10th Edition, Volume 1, L. Salvius, Stockholm. iv + 826pp.
1915 Fowler, Henry W. Cold-blooded vertebrates from Florida, the West Indies, Costa Rica, and eastern Brazil. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 67():244-269
1936 Barbour, Thomas. Two introduced lizards in Miami, Florida. Copeia 1936(2):113
1952 Etheridge, Richard E. The warty gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus (Linnaeus), in New Orleans, Louisiana. Copeia 1952(1):47-48
1955 Conant, Roger. Notes on three Texas reptiles, including an addition to the fauna of the state. American Museum Novitates (1726):1-6
1966 King, F. Wayne and Thomas Krakauer. The exotic herpetofauna of southeast Florida. Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 29(2):144–154
1973 Robinson, Michael D. and Charles W. Romack. The Medeterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), a species new to the herpetofauna of Arizona. Journal of Herpetology 7(3):311-312
1975 Mount, Robert H. The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University, Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. pp.
1980 Price, Andrew H. Geographic distribution: Hemidactylus turcicus (Mediterranean Gecko). Herpetological Review 11(2):39
1982 Marion, Ken R. and Greg Bosworth. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 13(2):52
1983 Bechtel, Elizabeth R. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus. Herpetological Review 14(1):27-28
1984 Keiser, Edmund D., Jr. The Mediterranean Gecko in northern Mississippi. Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences. 29():17-18
1990 Paulissen, Mark A. and Thomas M. Buchanan. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 21(1):22
1991 Norden, Arnold W. and B. B. Norden The Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) in Baltimore, Maryland. The Maryland Naturalist 33(3):57-58
1992 Painter, Charles W., Paul W. Hyder, and Gary Swinford. Three species new to the herpetofauna of New Mexico. Herpetological Review 23(2):62
1993 Saethre, Mary B. and Philip A. Medica. Hemidactylus turcicus (Mediterranean gecko). USA: Nevada. Herpetological Review 24(4):154-155
2000 Eason, George W., Jr. and Dorian R. McMillan. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 31(1):53
2001 Lardie, Richard L. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 32(2):119
2004 Bufalino, Angelo P. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 35(2):188
2005 Beaman, Kent R. David M. Goodward, Nathan T. Moorhatch, and Chris W. Brown. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus tursicus. Herpetological Review 36(1):79
2005 Goodward, David M., Brendan Cummings, and Michael Wilcox. Geographic Distribution: Hemidactylus turcicus (Mediterranean House Gecko). Herpetological Review 36(2):199
2006 Hare, Andrew. Exotic lizard discovered in Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (19):9
2006 Reed. R., N. E. Snow, L. J. Trenkamp, B. E. Cox, and S. M. Sorensen. Geographical Distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 37():106.
2006 Kleopfer, J. D., S. H. Watson, and J. C. Mitchell. Geographic distribution: Hemidactylus turcicus (Mediterranean Gecko). Herpetological Review 37():106-107
2006 McDowell, W., A. K. Wilson, and D. B. Clark. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 37(4):495
2008 Platt, Steven G., Thomas R. Rainwater, and Stanlee Miller. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 39(2):238
2013 Krusling, Paul J. and Heather B. Mitchell. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 44(1):107
2014 Swartwout, Meredith C., Robin Andrews, and Donald Linzey. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 45(1):92
2015 Hively, Chase L. Geographic distribution. Hemidactylus turcicus. Herpetological Review 46(1):59
2019 Ruhe, Brandon M., Thomas C. LaDuke, Kyle Taylor, Christopher A. Urban, and Jason L. Poston. The Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) in Pennsylvania, USA. Herpetological Review 50(3):536–537
2019 Beane, Jeffery C. New geographic distribution records for reptiles from North Carolina, USA. Herpetological Review 50(3):538-542

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:06 CT