Manapany day gecko (Phelsuma inexpectata)

Also called Reunion Island ornate day gecko.

One of the smallest day geckos. Body dark green. Snout with a greenish or blueish spot. Three red stripes extend from the snout to the neck. On the side of the head, two beige or blueish stripes extend along the mouth and from behind the eye. Back covered with reddish dots, longitudinally aligned, more marked on the head, and greatly reduced in females. Limbs brown-yellow or dirty-white. Ventral side off-white.
Adult female slightly smaller than the male. Male with two small bumps at the base of the tail, hosting the hemipenis.

About 12 cm long at most. Less than 10 grams.

Endemic to Reunion Island, a French oversea territory in the Indian Ocean, and Critically Endangered.
Solely found in the coastal areas, between Manapany-Les-Bains and Saint-Joseph, in the South of the island, on a surface estimated at 1.4 km². This gecko is never found more than one kilometer from the coast, or above 450 meters in altitude. Its coastal habitat is among the most threatened on the island, being severely fragmented by urbanization and agriculture.
Arboreal, typically found living on pantropical trees, and especially the ‘vacoa’ or common screwpine (Pandanus utilis), but also observed on coastal rocks.

Phelsuma inexpectata (Species Sheet, Nature Océan Indien) [in French].

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