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Cape Dwarf Gecko

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Animals of the Masai Mara
This chapter is in the book Animals of the Masai Mara
139Length: HBT 9cm/3½"Recognition: a tiny lizard with round pupils and camouflaged colouration .Habits: a daytime hunter of ants and small bugs; usually lives in trees but is adapting to tents .Where to find: common in and around camps and lodges .Feeds on: small invertebrates .The Cape Dwarf Gecko is smaller, slimmer and less noisy than Tropical House Gecko. Although they have adapted to tent poles and canvas, their natural habitat is mature forest, where small colonies are dominated by a single male, which shows a black throat. Approximately 60 species of dwarf gecko have been described, the vast majority from Africa, but more probably await discovery.Cape Dwarf Gecko Lygodactylus capensis Swa: Mjusi ndogo Maa: EmpurAutotomy This Cape Dwarf Gecko has successfully escaped predation by employing caudal autotomy (or 'tail self-severing', from the Latin caudum = tail and the Greek auto = self + tomy = severing). When under attack geckos, skinks and other lizards can shed their tail, which will wriggle and distract the predator while the animal escapes. The tail will partially regenerate (with cartilage replacing the original bone) over a period of a few weeks. Re-grown tails are often a different colour from the rest of the body.139

139Length: HBT 9cm/3½"Recognition: a tiny lizard with round pupils and camouflaged colouration .Habits: a daytime hunter of ants and small bugs; usually lives in trees but is adapting to tents .Where to find: common in and around camps and lodges .Feeds on: small invertebrates .The Cape Dwarf Gecko is smaller, slimmer and less noisy than Tropical House Gecko. Although they have adapted to tent poles and canvas, their natural habitat is mature forest, where small colonies are dominated by a single male, which shows a black throat. Approximately 60 species of dwarf gecko have been described, the vast majority from Africa, but more probably await discovery.Cape Dwarf Gecko Lygodactylus capensis Swa: Mjusi ndogo Maa: EmpurAutotomy This Cape Dwarf Gecko has successfully escaped predation by employing caudal autotomy (or 'tail self-severing', from the Latin caudum = tail and the Greek auto = self + tomy = severing). When under attack geckos, skinks and other lizards can shed their tail, which will wriggle and distract the predator while the animal escapes. The tail will partially regenerate (with cartilage replacing the original bone) over a period of a few weeks. Re-grown tails are often a different colour from the rest of the body.139

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter 1
  2. Contents 4
  3. About this book 7
  4. Geography of the Masai Mara 10
  5. Map of the Masai Mara 12
  6. Where to watch wildlife in the Masai Mara 14
  7. The great migrations 18
  8. About the guides 22
  9. Mammals
  10. Lion 26
  11. Leopard 30
  12. Cheetah 34
  13. Serval 38
  14. Caracal 39
  15. Wildcat 40
  16. African Chivet 41
  17. Small- and large-spotted Genet 42
  18. Spotted Hyena 44
  19. Aardwolf 46
  20. Striped Hyena 47
  21. Dwarf Mongoose 48
  22. Banded Mongoose 49
  23. Slender Mongoose 50
  24. Ichneumon Mongoose 51
  25. Marsh Mongoose 52
  26. White-tailed Mongoose 53
  27. Zorilla 54
  28. Honey Badger 55
  29. Black-backed Jackal 56
  30. Side-striped Jackal 57
  31. Bat-eared Fox 58
  32. Wild Dog 59
  33. Pangolin 60
  34. Aardvark 61
  35. African Elephant 62
  36. Black Rhinoceros 67
  37. Hippopotamus 68
  38. Warthog 70
  39. Plains Zebra 72
  40. Maasai Giraffe 76
  41. Cape Buffalo 80
  42. Eland 84
  43. Greater Kudu 86
  44. Bush Duiker 88
  45. Oribi 89
  46. Kirk’s Dik-dik 90
  47. Klipspringer 91
  48. Mountain Reedbuck 92
  49. Bohor Reedbuck 93
  50. Bushbuck 94
  51. Defassa Waterbuck 95
  52. Impala 96
  53. Grant’s Gazelle 98
  54. Thomson’s Gazelle 100
  55. Coke’s Hartebeest 102
  56. Topi 103
  57. White-bearded Wildebeest 104
  58. Cape Hare, Scrub Hare 108
  59. Springhare 109
  60. Unstriped- and Striped Ground Squirrel 110
  61. Grass Rat 111
  62. White-bellied Hedgehog 112
  63. Crested Porcupine 113
  64. Bush Hyrax 114
  65. Greater Galago 116
  66. Lesser Galago 117
  67. Guereza Colobus 118
  68. Red-tailed Monkey 120
  69. Blue Monkey 122
  70. Vervet Monkey 124
  71. Olive Baboon 126
  72. Reptiles
  73. Nile Crocodile 130
  74. Savanna Monitor, Nile Monitor 132
  75. Leopard Tortoise 134
  76. Helmeted Terrapin 135
  77. Flap-necked Chameleon, Striped Skink 136
  78. Tropical House Gecko 138
  79. Cape Dwarf Gecko 139
  80. Mwanza Flat-headed Agama 140
  81. Blue-headed Tree Agama 141
  82. Black-necked Spitting Cobra 142
  83. Black Mamba 143
  84. Spotted Bush Snake, Velvety-green Night Adder 144
  85. Puff Adder 145
  86. African Rock Python 146
  87. References and useful resources 148
  88. Acknowledgements 149
  89. Index 150
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400844913.139

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter 1
  2. Contents 4
  3. About this book 7
  4. Geography of the Masai Mara 10
  5. Map of the Masai Mara 12
  6. Where to watch wildlife in the Masai Mara 14
  7. The great migrations 18
  8. About the guides 22
  9. Mammals
  10. Lion 26
  11. Leopard 30
  12. Cheetah 34
  13. Serval 38
  14. Caracal 39
  15. Wildcat 40
  16. African Chivet 41
  17. Small- and large-spotted Genet 42
  18. Spotted Hyena 44
  19. Aardwolf 46
  20. Striped Hyena 47
  21. Dwarf Mongoose 48
  22. Banded Mongoose 49
  23. Slender Mongoose 50
  24. Ichneumon Mongoose 51
  25. Marsh Mongoose 52
  26. White-tailed Mongoose 53
  27. Zorilla 54
  28. Honey Badger 55
  29. Black-backed Jackal 56
  30. Side-striped Jackal 57
  31. Bat-eared Fox 58
  32. Wild Dog 59
  33. Pangolin 60
  34. Aardvark 61
  35. African Elephant 62
  36. Black Rhinoceros 67
  37. Hippopotamus 68
  38. Warthog 70
  39. Plains Zebra 72
  40. Maasai Giraffe 76
  41. Cape Buffalo 80
  42. Eland 84
  43. Greater Kudu 86
  44. Bush Duiker 88
  45. Oribi 89
  46. Kirk’s Dik-dik 90
  47. Klipspringer 91
  48. Mountain Reedbuck 92
  49. Bohor Reedbuck 93
  50. Bushbuck 94
  51. Defassa Waterbuck 95
  52. Impala 96
  53. Grant’s Gazelle 98
  54. Thomson’s Gazelle 100
  55. Coke’s Hartebeest 102
  56. Topi 103
  57. White-bearded Wildebeest 104
  58. Cape Hare, Scrub Hare 108
  59. Springhare 109
  60. Unstriped- and Striped Ground Squirrel 110
  61. Grass Rat 111
  62. White-bellied Hedgehog 112
  63. Crested Porcupine 113
  64. Bush Hyrax 114
  65. Greater Galago 116
  66. Lesser Galago 117
  67. Guereza Colobus 118
  68. Red-tailed Monkey 120
  69. Blue Monkey 122
  70. Vervet Monkey 124
  71. Olive Baboon 126
  72. Reptiles
  73. Nile Crocodile 130
  74. Savanna Monitor, Nile Monitor 132
  75. Leopard Tortoise 134
  76. Helmeted Terrapin 135
  77. Flap-necked Chameleon, Striped Skink 136
  78. Tropical House Gecko 138
  79. Cape Dwarf Gecko 139
  80. Mwanza Flat-headed Agama 140
  81. Blue-headed Tree Agama 141
  82. Black-necked Spitting Cobra 142
  83. Black Mamba 143
  84. Spotted Bush Snake, Velvety-green Night Adder 144
  85. Puff Adder 145
  86. African Rock Python 146
  87. References and useful resources 148
  88. Acknowledgements 149
  89. Index 150
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