Reptilia: LACERTILIA (Lizards)
Part 2 : More Geckos

Phyllodactylidae:

Asaccus caudivolvulus - Musandam leaf-toed gecko
A large leaf-toed gecko endemic to the Musandam Peninsula, we found this gecko at both Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE, at the irrigated garden site, and in caves in the Wadi Al Bih, Musandam, Oman. A pair of these geckos was found in almost every cave where there was total darkness.

Musandam leaf-toed gecko, Asaccus caudivolvulus top: specimen from garden site, Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE btm: specimen from caves, Wadi Al Bih, Musandam, Oman click on the images to enlarge

Asaccus gallagheri - Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko
Endemic to the northeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, we encounted both male and female Gallagher's leaf-toed geckos at Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE, in the road-side ruins near the Austrian Quarry, where a male evaded capture, and at the cliff site at Wadi Al Helo, living amongst the large boulders on the wadi floor.

Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko, Asaccus gallagheri top: female from ruins site, Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE btm: male from cliff site, Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE

Ptyodactylus hasselquistii - Arabian fan-toed gecko
The large Arabian fan-toed gecko is found from Egypt to Oman. We found specimens in the road-side house ruins near the Austrian Quarry and at the irrigated garden site, both at Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE.

Arabian fan-toed gecko, Ptyodactylus hasselquestii top: specimen from ruins site, Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE btm: specimen from garden site, Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE

Sphaerodactylidae:

Pristurus celerrimus - Omani bar-tailed semaphore gecko
This localised semaphore gecko is found only in northern Oman, including the Musandam Peninsula, and eastern Sharjah. The specimen below was the only reptile we found on the barren rocks at the top of the Wadi Al Bih, Musandam, Oman.

Omani bar-tailed semaphore gecko, Pristurus celerrimus a specimen from Wadi Al Bih, Musandam, Oman

Pristurus rupestris - Persian semaphore gecko
The most widespread semaphore gecko in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, we found a single specimen in the road-side house ruins near the Austrian Quarry at Wadi, Al Helo, Sharjah. Our specimen cast its tail so we also photographed a specimen from the AWC collection to illustrate the dorsally serrated tail of this semaphore gecko.

Persian semaphore gecko, Pristurus rupestris top: specimen from ruins site, Wadi Al Helo, Sharjah, UAE btm: specimen at AWC, Al Batayeh, Sharjah, UAE