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Common House Gecko
Hemidactylus frenatus
15.456, 119.922
Field Notes
Description:
Gekkonidae; Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836. According to Wikipedia, Hemidactylus frenatus tends to have a preference for urban environments. That is how I know these little lizards. Here, in the Philippines, they can always be seen in and around houses. In fact, I have rarely seen them away from buildings. Seeing this one, today on foliage in our backyard was a nice surprise. In the Wikipedia article, there is a long list of creatures which are known to be prey for the Common House Gecko, but I have mostly observed them catching mosquitos, flies, moths and butterflies.
Habitat:
This common House Gecko was spotted in our backyard climbing on a Passion Fruit Vine (Passiflora edulis) locally known as Pasyonario.
Plant identification - http://www.stuartxchange.org/Pasyonaryo
Notes:
In my first and third photos, there is a kind of iridescence which can be seen towards the posterior of the abdomen and on the tail in the first picture. On the third picture, it can be seen starting just behind the front legs and becomes more intense towards the posterior and tail. I could not find any information on this, but I suspect that it has something to do with the angle at which the camera flash strikes the skin. Since Geckos shed (or moult) their skin regularly, is it possible that the "iridescence" might be a condition which precedes a moult? If anyone knows, I would be grateful for information on this.
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