Gekko vittatus Houttuyn, 1782

Karin, Benjamin R., Stubbs, Alexander L., Arifin, Umilaela, Bloch, Luke M., Ramadhan, G., Iskandar, Djoko T., Arida, Evy, Reilly, Sean B., Kusnadi, Agus & Mcguire, Jimmy A., 2018, The herpetofauna of the Kei Islands (Maluku, Indonesia): Comprehensive report on new and historical collections, biogeographic patterns, conservation concerns, and an annotated checklist of species from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, Tam, and Kur, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66, pp. 704-738 : 717-718

Gekko vittatus Houttuyn, 1782

(Fig. 10)

Type locality. Unknown.

Distribution in the Kei Islands. All islands. We collected Gekko vittatus on Kei Kecil, Tam, and Kur, and Roux (1910) collected this species on Kei Besar.

Natural history. This species was quite common on all surveyed islands around human settlements and could easily be found on outdoor wooden structures with dim lighting at night.

Field identification. Gekko vittatus is one of the largest geckos found in the Kei Islands. It is easily identified by the prominent white dorsal stripe that bifurcates along the back of the head, forming a “Y” shape along the dorsum, though this colour pattern can vary with light conditions. All digits possess a claw, have slight webbing, and are moderately dilated with enlarged scansors. Tail slender, subcylindrical, sometimes with alternating whitish and black bands that are especially pronounced in juveniles. Males with a series of 25–29 femoral pores, SVL to 128 mm ( Boulenger, 1885a, p. 185–186).

Fig. 10. Photo in life of Gekko vittatus from Tam (BRK 209).