One of the 3 house geckos on WAnimals
Reptiles · Squamata · Phyllodactylidae
Common House Gecko
Tarentola mauritanica
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
It is extraordinarily well adapted to Mediterranean town life, with a long tradition of living alongside people as a hunter of household insects.
Weight
7 g on average
Size
10 cm – 15 cm
Lifespan
8 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- Its granular skin, studded with prominent tubercles, gives it an armoured look that recalls a small crocodile — hence its Catalan nickname, dragó.
- It eats night-flying insects drawn to artificial light, along with spiders and other small invertebrates.
- It lives on walls, buildings and rocky outcrops of warm Mediterranean coasts.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
- Habitat & environment
- Walls, buildings and rocky outcrops of warm Mediterranean coasts, thoroughly at home in towns
- Birth weight
- Under 5 cm long on hatching
- Size at birth
- Under 5 cm long on hatching
- Sexual maturity
- 4-5 years in captivity
- Gestation / incubation
- ~4 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 2 eggs per clutch, with 2-4 clutches a year
- Lifespan in captivity
- Documented record of up to 10-12 years
Sources consulted: CaliforniaHerps; Les Veus de la Vall; Animal Kingdom; Wikipedia (Tarentola mauritanica); Gekkota.com; The Animal Facts; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info)
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round, mostly at dusk, on walls, house fronts and street lamps; in winter it basks by day on south-facing walls.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 43 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Common House Gecko — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Boettger's Wall Gecko
Tarentola boettgeri
Tenerife Wall Gecko
Tarentola delalandii
Least ConcernGreater Horseshoe Bat
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
Common Wall Lizard
Podarcis muralis
Slow Worm
Anguis fragilis
Least ConcernMidwife Toad
Alytes obstetricans
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