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Dwarf Yellow-headed gecko edit.jpg
Lygodactylus luteopicturatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Infraorder: Gekkota
Family: Gekkonidae
Subfamily: Gekkoninae
Genus: Lygodactylus
Gray, 1864[1][2]

c. 60 sp., see text

Lygodactylus is a genus of diurnal geckos with approximately 60 species. They are commonly referred to as Dwarf Geckos. They are mainly found in Africa and Madagascar although two species are found in South America. Lygodactylus picturatus, the best known species, is found in Kenya and commonly known as the white-headed dwarf gecko.[3] Recently, importation from Tanzania of brightly colored Lygodactylus williamsi, known as electric blue geckos, has been gaining attention for Lygodactylus geckos in the reptile trade.


Species in alphabetical order by specific name:[2]

Lygodactylus picturatus in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The tail has been lost due to a self-defense mechanism known as autotomy.

L. blancae (feminine, genitive, singular) is named for (Ms) Françoise Blanc, a French geneticist; but L. blanci (masculine, genitive, singular) is named for (Mr.) Charles Pierre Blanc, a French herpetologist.[4]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was original described in a genus other than Lygodactylus.


  1. ^ ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System).
  2. ^ a b Lygodactylus at the Reptile Database
  3. ^ "Lygodactylus picturatus White-headed Dwarf Gecko". Retrieved 2007-04-05. 
  4. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lygodactylus blancae and L. blanci, p. 26).

Further reading[edit]

  • Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition. Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Lygodactylus, p. 245).
  • Gray JE. 1864. Notes on some Lizards from South-Eastern Africa, with the Descriptions of several New Species. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864: 58-62. (Lygodactylus, new genus, p. 59).