THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Sphaerodactylidae  

Reef Gecko
Sphaerodactylus notatus Baird, 1859 “1858”
SFEER-oh-DAK-til-us — noh-TAY-tus

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Occurrences:; 1,363 Total; 1,226 Museum; 137 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Florida

Taxonomic Etymology:
A small southeastern gecko Named for its spotted pattern.
Sphaerodactylus — From Greek sphaira (σφαῖρα), “sphere,” and daktylos (δάκτυλος), “finger.” The name means “spherical finger,” referring to the rounded toe tips of these small geckos.
notatus — From Latin notatus, meaning “marked” or “spotted.” Refers to the small spots or blotches on the back or flanks.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Florida Gecko (Sphaerodactylus notatus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Reef Gecko (Sphaerodactylus notatus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Brown-speckled Geckolet (Sphaerodactylus notatus: 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);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1859 "1858" Baird, Spencer F. Description of new genera and species of North American lizards in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 10:253-256
1962 King, F. Wayne. Systematics of Lesser Antillean Lizards of the genus Sphaerodactylus. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 7(1):1-52
1970 Schwartz, Albert. Sphaerodactylus notatus.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (90):1-2
1973 Schwartz, Albert. Sphaerodactylus.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (142):1-2
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

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 27 July 2026 16:51 CT