Broad-tailed gecko

Taken in East Ryde

Broad-tailed gecko
in a garage at Chatswood West, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Carphodactylidae
Genus: Phyllurus
Species:
P. platurus
Binomial name
Phyllurus platurus
Shaw 1790
Synonyms
  • Lacerta platura
  • Stellio phyllurus
  • Stellio platurus
  • Stellio platuros
  • Agama grandoculis
  • Agama platyura
  • Agama discosura
  • Geckoides platurus
  • Phyllurus platura
  • Phyllurus spinosus
  • Phyllurus novaehollandiae
  • Phyllurus cuvieri
  • Phyllurus whitii
  • Phyllurus australis
  • Phyllurus inermis
  • Phyllura discosura
  • Phyllura grandoculis
  • Gymnodactylus platyurus
  • Gymnodactylus phyllurus
  • Gymnodactylus inermis
  • Gymnodactylus platurus
  • Cyrtodactylus platura
  • Gecko platycaudus

The broad-tailed gecko, southern leaf-tailed gecko, or Sydney leaf-tailed gecko[1][2][3] (Phyllurus platurus) is a common gecko of the family Carphodactylidae found in the Sydney Basin.[4][5] The species uses its mottled colour to camouflage against bark or rock, and if threatened can drop its large fleshy tail as a decoy. The tail is also useful for fat storage. This species of gecko is available in captivity as a pet, they are a nocturnal ambush hunter, relying on camouflage and patience to catch prey. Primary prey items include large nocturnal invertebrates such as spiders, cockroaches and beetles.[6]

  1. ^ "Phyllurus platurus (Shaw, 1790)" The Reptile Database
  2. ^ Cogger, Harold (1975). REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OF AUSTRALIA. Sydney: A.H. & A.W. Reed. ISBN 9780589071769.
  3. ^ "Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko - Phyllurus platurus - Australian Museum". australianmuseum.net.au. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  4. ^ Australia, Atlas of Living. "Phyllurus platurus : Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko | Atlas of Living Australia". bie.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  5. ^ "Phyllurus platurus". The Queensland Museum. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  6. ^ Doughty, Paul; Shine, Richard (1995). "Life in Two Dimensions: Natural History of the Southern Leaf-Tailed Gecko, Phyllurus platurus". Herpetologica. 51 (2): 193–201. JSTOR 3892587.