The Indopacific Tree Gecko

Slender of tail and narrow of head, meet the Indopacific Tree Gecko. by Dick & Patti Bartlett Perhaps the least well known of the gecko fauna in the USA, this tiny arboreal gecko, known by three appropriately descriptive common names, Indopacific tree gecko, Indopacific slender gecko, or common dwarf gecko, the tiny Hemiphyllodactylus typus, ranges widely over much of southern and eastern Asia and many tropical islands of the western Pacific. Of more slender build, with a narrower head and skinnier tail than the various house geckos that many of us have now become familiar with, the favored habitats of the Indopacific tree gecko are—are you ready for this—trees! But with that having been said, tree geckos are occasionally found on both the exterior and interior of houses. So far, in the USA they are known only from Hawaii. This tiny (2 ½ - 3 ½” total length) non-communal, olive-colored, lizard waif is so thin-skinned that on many examples the body cavity is translucent. It is an all female, parthenogenetic species. The diet of this arboreal lizard consists of tiny insects.

Overall, this is the slenderest gecko in the USA.

In appearance the IndoPacific Tree Gecko gives an impression of translucence.