Gargoyle Gecko

Overview

Endemic to southern New Caledonia, the gargoyle gecko takes its name from the bumpy protrusions on its head that resemble stone gargoyles. It is an arboreal species of maquis shrubland and humid forest edges. If threatened it can drop its tail, and it grows the tail back: the replacement is prehensile and cartilage-based rather than bone, with uneven scales, and it works.

Quick Facts

History

Arthur Bavay described the species in 1869. For more than a century it sat in Rhacodactylus alongside the crested gecko and the mossy prehensile-tailed gecko, until a 2012 revision by Aaron Bauer, Anthony Whitaker, Ross Sadlier and Todd Jackman broke that genus apart: the crested gecko moved to Correlophus and the mossy species to Mniarogekko, while the gargoyle gecko kept the original name and now shares Rhacodactylus with the giant leachianus and the rough-snouted geckos. New Caledonia stopped issuing export permits for its endemic geckos, so captive animals descend from founders exported decades ago. The IUCN still rates the species Least Concern, though deforestation across its range in the south of the island is listed as the main threat.

Fun Facts