Rotuman forest gecko explained

The Rotuman forest gecko (Lepidodactylus gardineri), also known commonly as the Rotuma forest gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Rotuma Island, Fiji.

Etymology

The specific name, gardineri, is in honor of British zoologist John Stanley Gardiner.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of L. gardineri is forest, at altitudes from sea level to .

Behavior

L. gardineri is arboreal. It is found in dead tree branches, both beneath the bark and in termite galleries.

Reproduction

L. gardineri is oviparous.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1897). "On the Reptiles of Rotuma Island, Polynesia". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 20: 306–307. (Lepidodactylus gardineri, new species, pp. 306–307).
• Brown WC, Parker F (1977). "Lizards of the genus Lepidodactylus (Gekkonidae) from the Indo-Australian Archipelago and the islands of the Pacific, with description of new species". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 41 (8): 253–265. (Lepidodactylus gardineri, pp. 256, 258).
• Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Lepidodactylus gardineri, p. 91). (in German).
• Zug GR (1991). "The lizards of Fiji: Natural history and systematics". Bishop Museum Bulletin in Zoology 2: 1–136.