It’s acrobatic grace and golden good looks will steal your heart, and what’s more, there’s only one region on mainland New Zealand that you can find this month’s native animal, the goldstripe gecko (Woodworthia chrysosireticus).
There are still quite a few of these little geckos throughout their patch on the western coast of the North Island, even in some people’s backyards, but they exist in small fragmented populations. Threats include habitat loss due to clearance of native vegetation, and introduced mammalian pests (cats, rodents and mustelids), and possibly also wildlife poaching for illegal trade as pets. While two populations are present in pest-free locations, and another population was discovered on another pest-free island in February 2013, most populations of this gecko fall outside of areas where they are secured from threats and it is considered to be a species ‘At Risk’ of extinction1.
These geckos were traditionally thought to be nocturnal critters, but they’ve also been found to be active during warm sunny days as well2. Presumably they are able to be day-active because of their preference for living in dense, complex vegetation, which gives them good protection from predators. Male geckos don’t appear to have a defined territory, but do seem to show aggression towards other males when they meet, by bobbing their heads up and down, wiggling their tails violently, ‘squeaking’ or ‘chirping’ and/or lunging at each other2.
References, and resources:
1 Hitchmough, RA, Hoare JM, Jamieson H, Newman D, Tocher MD, Anderson PJ, Lettink M & Whitaker AH. 2010. Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2009. New Zealand journal of Zoology 37 203-224. New Plymouth District Library holds this journal.
Landcare Research NZ lizards database, search ‘chrysosireticus’, URL: http://nzlizards.landcareresearch.co.nz/
New Zealand Herpetological Society, URL: http://www.reptiles.org.nz/
2 Melgren, P. 2012. Observations from a goldstripe gecko, Woodworthia chrysosireticus, population in suburban New Plymouth. Biogecko 1: 34-37. URL: http://www.biogecko.co.nz.
Report lizard and frog sightings to: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/reptiles-and-frogs-distribution-information/species-sightings-and-data-management/
Photograph by Trent Bell on the New Zealand Lizards Database: nzlizards.landcareresearch.co.nz
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