Philippine lizards of the family Gekkonidae comprise 49 species (Taylor, 1915, 1922; Brown and Alcala, 1978) in 10 genera: Gehyra (1), Gekko (13), Hemidactylus (5), Hemiphyllodactylus (2), Lepidodactylus (6), Luperosaurus (8), Ptychozoon (1), Pseudogekko (4), and Cyrtodactylus (9), (Brown et al., 2007, 2010a, 2011; Welton et al., 2009, 2010a, 2010b; Zug, 2011). An amazing percentage of these species are endemic to the Philippines archipelago (roughly 85%; Brown et al., 2011). Several of the recently described gekkonids in the Philippines were discovered only recently as part of ongoing surveys around the archipelago. Recent phylogenetic studies focused on Philippine gekkonids (Siler et al., 2010; Welton et al., 2010a,b) have resulted in the observation of high levels of genetic diversity among populations of widespread species, an indication that the country's gecko diversity may still be greatly underestimated.
Two genera of "house" geckos are currently recognized to occur in the Philippines (Gehyra and Hemidactylus). Prior to the recent study by Mahony et al. (2009), Hemidactylus platyurus was recognized to be a member of the genus Cosymbotus; however, numerous studies over the years have indicated the species' close affinity to the genus Hemidactylus. One species of Gehyra (Gehyra mutilata) and five species of Hemidactylus (Hemidactylus brookii, Hemidactylus frenatus, Hemidactylus garnoti, Hemidactylus platyurus, Hemidactylus stejnegeri) are recognized to occur in the Philippines. Several species (Gehyra mutilata Hemidactylus Cosymbotus, and Hemidactylus franatus) are incredibly common and widespread across the archipelago, often being found in disturbed habitats and on the buildings and houses in residential areas. At night, large numbers of individuals of all three of these species can be observed preying on insects near light fixtures. No phylogenetic studies have investigated whether any of these widespread species represent unique lineages in the Philippines.
We have evaluated this species against the IUCN criteria for classification, and find that it does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened status. Hemidactylus frenatus has been documented to be quite abundant at all sampled localities. We therefore classify this species as Least Concern, LC (IUCN, 2010).
Dorsal tubercles small to moderate in size, scattered, in two to eight uneven rows at midbody; eight to 10 wide scansors (all but the terminal and two or three basal ones very deeply notched or divided) beneath the fourth toe; scansors covering the toe to the base, or nearly so; compressed, terminal phalanges of the inner toe short; extending only a very short distance beyond the dilated portion; a series of 27 to 34 preanal and femoral pores in males usually separated by a single scale at the midpoint. (Text taken from Brown and Alcala, 1978)
This common house gekko is distributed widely across Southeast Asia, and in the Philippines, the species occurs on all major islands and numerous small islands.
In the Philippines, this species is associated with all currently recognized faunal regions.
36.5-56.5 mm SVL (Brown and Alcala, 1978)
Java; type stored in the Leiden Museum
