Gioca STEMAnimals

Animals · Reptiles and amphibians

Gecko

Tarentola mauritanica

Two hundred mosquitoes in a single night

A common gecko rests motionless on a sunny wall, spreading its toes wide against the rough stone.
A common gecko rests motionless on a sunny wall, spreading its toes wide against the rough stone.
  • Status: Safe
  • Walls and ruins throughout the Mediterranean basin, including islands

Numbers

Weight
0,2 ozfrom 0.1 to 0.2 oz
Length
6 infrom 6 inches, including the tail
Lifespan
5 yearsfrom 4 to 7 years in the wild
Mosquitoes in one night
200 %a single adult individual
Age at maturity
5 yearsfrom 4 to 5 years, very late for a reptile of this size
Wait before hatching
4 monthsfrom egg laying to hatching

Ten fun facts

  1. an adult gecko can catch up to two hundred mosquitoes in a single night while hunting on illuminated walls.

  2. it is the largest gecko species in Europe, yet it does not exceed six inches in length including its tail.

  3. it has claws only on the tips of its third and fourth toes, while the other toes have no claws at all.

  4. a tail regrown after autotomy is completely smooth and lacks bumps, making it easy to see if a gecko lost its original.

  5. its eyes have no eyelids, featuring a protective transparent membrane instead and a pupil shaped like a vertical slit.

  6. it changes color depending on light, showing darker skin when active during the day and lighter skin at night.

  7. when it sheds its skin a few times each year, the gecko peels off the old layer and eats it entirely.

  8. females lay two nearly round eggs measuring half an inch across, twice every year in April and June.

  9. it reaches adulthood only between four and five years of age, a remarkably long time for a small reptile.

  10. it appears in two famous works of Italian literature, namely Le labrene by Tommaso Landolfi and Palomar by Italo Calvino.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

How many mosquitoes can an adult gecko eat in one night?

Question 2 of 5

What allows the gecko to walk across ceilings?

Question 3 of 5

How can you recognize a regrown tail?

Question 4 of 5

What do gecko eyes have instead of eyelids?

Question 5 of 5

How many years does it take a common gecko to reach adulthood?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Count two hundred grains of rice onto a small plate to picture how many mosquitoes a single adult gecko can devour in just one night.

Experiment 2

Take a ruler and measure six inches to see the maximum total length of Europe largest gecko including its tail, then compare it to a pen.

Experiment 3

In the evening look at a wall near a street lamp to count how many geckos and flying insects pass by the light in ten minutes.

Data from Wikidata (Q901720) and Wikipedia (Tarentola mauritanica).