<< Are the S.petrii in your pictures at www.gekkota.com from Morocco?>>
No. It is nearly impossible to get anything out of Morocco legally, and
Stenodactylus or Geckonia are hardly worth a 6 month prison term in an
Arabic prison.
<< Are these the small or large form?>>
Small form. I will get some photos together of both forms, and hopefully
both side by side and submit it to the GGA photo page.
<< I'm under the impression that most Stenodactylus in the pet trade come
from
Israel and Egypt>>
I think you're under the correct impression.
<< The recent article in Reptiles said that Geckonia and Stenodactylus are
found together, but the author didn't know how they were partitioning
resources so they could coexist. Any ideas from your own observations?>>
Unfortunately, I have not read this article. I have also found them side
by side in the Sahara. My belief is that Geckonia obtains a large
percentage of their prey during the day. Geckonia care frequently found
underneath: small black trash bags (this sounds funny, but virtually every
retail purchase made in Morocco is handed over in a small black plastic
bags and the people discard them without a second thought. Large areas are
littered with them, sometimes in the hundreds. With shifting sands, they
become lodged and only half-exposed, and furthermore trap coastal moisture
from the Atlantic current), pop-cans (sometime found inside of the can),
Euphorbia patches, and rocks. Peculiar to these 'hides' is the fact that
they normally have large entrance points for the geckos themselves. Couple
this with the fact that they generally do not "plug" the entrance of their
hides, and the insects enter and get nailed (primarily in the early
morning, after nocturnal activity) by the Geckonia. Stenodactylus, on the
other hand, despite living in the same area, normally dig fresh burrows
every evening and then plug them. In one area, I saw perhaps 100
Stenodactylus sthenodactylus in the course of about 3 hours. They were
everywhere. They tend to forage broadly, as the food encounter rate is
low, and for economic reasons just burrow down near where they finish
foraging. I've watched them and they will cross open sections to get to a
Euphorbia patch. They poke and prod, disappear and reappear, in the
proximity of these patches. At night, Geckonia will stand tall and walk
deliberately (even at very cold temps.) in broad open areas. They tend to
emerge from the Euphorbia patches and forage in the open areas.
Stenodactylus normally burrows down in a place where an advantage point
may be offered to help them start their excavation (ex. a hard packed plain
area where tiny little micro-steppes are abundant). Here in the hard pan,
they can dig out real quick. After excavating successfully, they ALWAYS
turn around are kick and press more substrate to "seal" their retreats.
So, in essence, Stenodactylus spends the day in the open plains only to
forage around, at night, where Geckonia just left.
<< Also, from what I've read, Geckonia is found in the more humid coastal
areas of Morocco. Were you finding them in the more arid interior as
well? How did they differ from the coastal populations?>>
Geckonia are found more commonly in the humid coastal belt. But, then
again, like anything else - people tend to visit where they know the most
likely success will occur. I've visited a number of coastal points and
found them to be common. However, I spent more time in the arid interior.
Here, around oasis', they are not necessarily more rare, they just live in
a different manner. The trash bags are largely missing, as are the
pop-cans and other human rubbish. Inland, there are very few humanoids to
trash the habitat, therefore Geckonia live in a more undisturbed, more
naturalistic environment. The Geckonia that I found near one oasis, 60 km
inland (yep, 60 K baby) were considerably larger than the coastal
populations. They also had a higher degree of white blotching and its
intensity surpassed anything I have ever seen since. Not far from here, at
a higher elevation lives yet another form. This form MIGHT represent a new
species, because it is substantially larger than the "inland morph". A
further peculiarity of this form is that it lives in rocky steppe country
where virtually everything is black (with the exception of the soil).
Under the smaller, more turn-able rocks one will find this largest morph,
and they are nearly all black - just like their surroundings. I've never
known of another individual who knew anything (other than hearing my story
re-circulate) about this form. The very fact that it was necessary to pack
a camel for nearly a 2 day hike into the mountains might explain why they
are "unknown". This was the only way into the habitat, as there were no
roads whatsoever, and the only way out. There are probably other "unknown"
reptiles in the nearly inaccessible "inland Morocco". Just that nobody has
roughed it into these areas.
In a nut shell:
* coastal Geckonia - 7-9.5cm
* inland Geckonia - 9-12cm (and much thicker)
* strange Geckonia - 13-16cm (thick and nearly all black)
waiting on the next form...........
Jon
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