Gehyra Explained

Gehyra is a genus of geckos in the family Gekkonidae. They are known as web-toed geckos or dtellas, and most species within the genus bear close resemblance to geckos from the genus Hemidactylus.

Geographic range

Gehyra species have a wide geographic range, covering most of the Oceania and Melanesian Islands as far north as the Ryukyu Islands and Thailand.

Description

Dtellas are moderately sized geckos that resemble house geckos. Gehyra species have toepads and powerful claws. Like some other geckos they also have a tendency to drop strips of skin if handled carelessly. Similar to house geckos, dtellas are able to communicate with clicks or chirps, although their chirp is often quieter than that of house geckos.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.^{[1] [2]}

• Gehyra angusticaudata – narrow-tailed four-clawed gecko
• Gehyra arnhemica – East Arnhem land gehyra
• Gehyra australis – top-end dtella
• Gehyra baliola – short-tailed dtella
• Gehyra barea – Banda Island dtella
• Gehyra borroloola – Borroloola dtella
• Gehyra brevipalmata – Palau Island dtella
• Gehyra calcitectus – relictual karst gehyra
• Gehyra capensis – North West Cape gehyra
• Gehyra catenata – chain-backed dtella
• Gehyra chimera – western Kimberley tree gehyra
• Gehyra crypta – western cryptic gehyra
• Gehyra dubia – dubious dtella
• Gehyra einasleighensis ^[3] – Einasleigh rock dtella
• Gehyra electrum – amber rock dtella
• Gehyra fehlmanni – Fehlmann's dtella
• Gehyra fenestrula – Hamersley Range spotted gehyra
• Gehyra finipunctata – small-spotted midwest rock gehyra
• Gehyra gemina – plain tree gehyra
• Gehyra georgpotthasti
• Gehyra girloorloo – Kimberley karst gecko
• Gehyra granulum – Kimberley granular-toed gecko
• Gehyra incognita – northern Pilbara cryptic gehyra
• Gehyra insulensis – Pacific stump-toed gecko
• Gehyra interstitialis – Oudemans's dtella
• Gehyra ipsa – Bungle Bungle Ranges gehyra
• Gehyra kimberleyi – Kimberley dtella
• Gehyra koira – banded rock dtella
• Gehyra lacerata – lacerated dtella
• Gehyra lapistola – Litchfield rock gehyra
• Gehyra lauta – Gulf tree gehyra
• Gehyra lazelli
• Gehyra leopoldi – Leopold dtella
• Gehyra macra – large Pilbara rock gehyra
• Gehyra marginata – Halmahera giant gecko, Ternate dtella
• Gehyra media – medium Pilbara spotted rock gehyra
• Gehyra membranacruralis – Port Moresby dtella
• Gehyra micra – small Pilbara spotted rock gehyra
• Gehyra minuta – dwarf dtella
• Gehyra montium – Centralian dtella
• Gehyra moritzi
• Gehyra multiporosa
• Gehyra mutilata – common four-clawed gecko, stump-toed gecko
• Gehyra nana – northern spotted rock dtella
• Gehyra occidentalis – Kimberley Plateau dtella
• Gehyra oceanica – Pacific dtella
• Gehyra ocellata – Pilbara island gehyra
• Gehyra pamela – Arnhemland watercourse dtella
• Gehyra papuana – Papua dtella
• Gehyra paranana – Litchfield spotted gecko
• Gehyra peninsularis – Burrup Peninsula rock gehyra
• Gehyra pilbara – Pilbara dtella
• Gehyra pluraporosa – northern Kimberley gecko
• Gehyra polka – large-spotted midwest rock gehyra
• Gehyra pseudopunctata – southern Kimberley spotted gecko
• Gehyra pulingka
• Gehyra punctata – spotted dtella
• Gehyra purpurascens – purplish dtella
• Gehyra robusta – robust dtella
• Gehyra rohan
• Gehyra serraticauda
• Gehyra spheniscus – small wedge-toed gecko
• Gehyra unguiculata – crescent-marked Pilbara gehyra
• Gehyra variegata – tree dtella
• Gehyra versicolor
• Gehyra vorax – voracious dtella
• Gehyra wongchan
• Gehyra xenopus – crocodile-faced dtella

Nota bene

A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Gehyra.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I-XXXII. (Genus Gehyra, p. 147).
• Gray JE (1834). "Characters of Two New Genera of Reptiles (Geoemyda and Gehyra)". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1834: 99-100. (Gehyra, new genus, p. 100). (in Latin and English).

• Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Genus Gehyra, p. 104, Figure 30).

Notes and References

1. www.reptile-database.org.
2. Genus "Gehyra ". at Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de/systematik/Reptilien/Squamata/Gekkota/Gekkonidae.
3. Bourke . Gayleen . species:Gayleen Bourke . Pratt . Renae C. . species:Renae C. Pratt . Vanderduys . Eric . species:Eric P. Vanderduys . Moritz . Craig .

   fr:Craig Moritz

   . Systematics of a small Gehyra (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Einasleigh Uplands, Queensland: description of a new range restricted species . Zootaxa . 4231 . 1 . 2017 . 85–99 . 1175-5334 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4231.1.5. 28187551 . (Gehyra einasleighensis, new species).