THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Phyllodactylidae  

Moorish Gecko
Tarentola mauritanica (Linnaeus, 1758)
tah-REN-toh-lah — mor-ih-TAH-ni-kah

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Native to the Mediterranean region. It is established in California (Mahrdt, 1998, Herpetological Review 29: 52) and Hollywood, Broward County, Florida (Bartlett and Bartlett, 1999, A Field Guide to Florida Reptiles and Amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas.; Krysko et al., 2011, Zootaxa 3028: 1–64; Rochford and Krysko, 2019, Tarantola annularis annularis. Pages 342–343 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida). (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.)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.03.14.53.19)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.11 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: California

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for the region of Mauritania (historically North Africa).
Tarentola — Named after the Italian city of Taranto (Latin Tarentum) in southern Italy, where geckos were historically known. Possibly linked to old beliefs in "tarantism" and the association of lizards with superstitions.
mauritanica — From Latin Mauritania, a Roman name for parts of North Africa (roughly modern-day Algeria and Morocco). Indicates the species’ distribution in the western Mediterranean and North Africa.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Fasciculated Gecko (Platydactyle fascicularis: 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.);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
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.
1998 Mahrdt, Clark R. Geographic Distribution. Tarentola mauritanica. Herpetological Review 29(1):52
1999 Bartlett, Richard D. and Patricia P. Bartlett. A Field Guide to Florida Reptiles and Amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. 280pp.
2011 Krysko, Kenneth L., Joseph P. Burgess, Michael R. Rochford, Christopher R. Gillette, Daniel Cueva, Kevin M. Enge, Louis A. Somma, Jennifer L. Stabile, Dustin C. Smith, Joseph A. Wasilewski, Guy N. Kieckhefer III, Michael C. Granatosky & Stuart V. Nielsen. Verified non-indigenous amphibians and reptiles in Florida from 1863 through 2010: Outlining the invasion process and identifying invasion pathways and stages. Zootaxa 3028(1):1-64

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 15:56 CT