Success!
09 June 2008
HerpQuest 2008 just
ended and all we saw was this silly gecko...
A little background:
Coleonyx switaki (aka: Barefoot gecko or Switak's Banded gecko; or Anarbylus switaki if you're old-school) is a medium-sized eublepharid that ranges from central Baja to extreme southern California. In CA, it inhabits arid rocky areas in the desert foothills of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Most records are the result of hiking desert canyons and road cruising through appropriate habitat during the right conditions. The gecko was not formally documented in California until 1982, but older informal records exist (some early descriptions of ‘abnormal’ Coleonyx variegatus are pretty suggestive of Coleonyx switaki). Actual numbers of records each year are difficult to estimate, though only 17 actual museum specimens exist. Its clear that the lizard turns up occasionally, however it is certainly one of California’s rarest (or at least most infrequently seen) reptiles.
We had a big group of folks out this year and had a lot of fun, seeing 42 species in the process. We lucked out and a single Coleonyx switaki turned up, making this the first HerpQuest to actually find what it was looking for. Clearly these things need to be harder in the future...
Coleonyx switaki (aka: Barefoot gecko or Switak's Banded gecko; or Anarbylus switaki if you're old-school) is a medium-sized eublepharid that ranges from central Baja to extreme southern California. In CA, it inhabits arid rocky areas in the desert foothills of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Most records are the result of hiking desert canyons and road cruising through appropriate habitat during the right conditions. The gecko was not formally documented in California until 1982, but older informal records exist (some early descriptions of ‘abnormal’ Coleonyx variegatus are pretty suggestive of Coleonyx switaki). Actual numbers of records each year are difficult to estimate, though only 17 actual museum specimens exist. Its clear that the lizard turns up occasionally, however it is certainly one of California’s rarest (or at least most infrequently seen) reptiles.
We had a big group of folks out this year and had a lot of fun, seeing 42 species in the process. We lucked out and a single Coleonyx switaki turned up, making this the first HerpQuest to actually find what it was looking for. Clearly these things need to be harder in the future...