And the bush has friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him, In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended, And at night the wonderous glory of the everlasting stars.

Banjo Paterson (1889)

Friday, February 3, 2012

Reticulated Velvet Gecko

The Reticulated Velvet Gecko (Oedura reticulata) belongs to the Australian nocturnal arboreal gecko genus of Oedura. This gecko is mainly restricted to areas east of Perth, where there are big smooth-barked eucalypts, especially the Wandoo woodlands. This is a gecko that specifically relies on the endangered Great Western Woodlands, more so than the previous Bynoe's Gecko.









Some interesting facts about Oedura reticulata are:

- They are long lived (> 9yrs), with females reaching maturity in their 4th year and males maturing at 3 years.

- Females lay two eggs (between October and January), that have low survival during incubation, but good survival rates as adults, often greater than 75%. The reason it's a long lived species.

- The geckos are secretive, but high numbers can occurs on mature smooth-barked gums that have large areas of foliage and dead wood. Hence the need to save our old-growth woodlands.

This beautiful individual was videoed in a area of Wandoo, about 1 hour east of Perth. I hope you enjoy this lovely little gecko.


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