Herpetology Notes, volume 11: 319-320 (2018) (published online on 22 April 2018)
Observations of the warty house gecko, Gekko monarchus (Schlegel, 1836), feeding on bread Robbie Weterings1,* and Preeyaporn Weterings1
Many gecko species are considered strict insectivores, including species in the genus Gekko. The feeding behaviour and diet of species in this genus are poorly known, with Gekko gecko the notable exception (Tang et al., 1985; Meshaka et al., 1997). Gekko gecko has been described as an insectivore, based on both behavioural and dietary analyses. Other known prey items of G. gecko include small vertebrates, such as rats (Bucol and Alcala, 2013) and lizards (Aowpol et al., 2006). In some species of geckos that live in buildings or other human-modified locations, it has been observed that they opportunistically feed on insects that are attracted by artificial lights. Such observations have also been reported for G. gecko and G. monarchus (Auwpol et al., 2006; McKelvy and Ozelski-McKelvy, 2012). To date only two unpublished studies have focused on foraging behaviour and diet of G. monarchus. The first study focused on spatial partitioning around artificial lights and found no inter-specific differences among four gecko species (Somaweera et al., 2007). While the other study showed that the diet of G. monarchus consists mostly of termites (Isoptera), wasps and sawflies (Hymenoptera), true flies (Diptera) and spiders (Arachnidaea) (Affandi and Zulkipli, 2013). Based on the scarce information available for this species, G. monarchus was to date considered a strict insectivore. We recently observed G. monarchus feeding on noninsect food items. On 7 July 2017 between 20:30 PM and 21:00 PM, in Tanjung Selor, North Kalimantan, Indonesia (2.8366°N, 117.3724°E), we observed two individuals feeding on white bread on a table in a kitchen (Fig. 1).
Cat Drop Foundation, Boorn 45, 9204AZ, Drachten, The Netherlands * Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected] 1
Recently several observations of geckos feeding on non-insect food have appeared in the literature, suggesting that this opportunistic behaviour might be more widespread than generally thought. Hemidactylus platyurus, an insectivore (Tkaczenko et al., 2014), was reported to forage in garbage bins feeding on rice, cucumber and egg (Weterings, 2017). Similarly, Gehyra mutilata, a species commonly found in buildings and known to feed on insects (Barragán-Ramírez et al., 2015), was recorded feeding on nectar from flowers (Tanalgo and Hughes, 2017). Our paper contributes to the growing knowledge on feeding behaviour in geckos, while due to scarce systematic reporting of such natural history events, it is still unknown how common this opportunistic feeding behaviour is among Gekkonidae. References Affandi, S., Zulkipli, B. (2013): Dietary, temporal and habitat resource partitioning by four gekkonid lizards (Sauria: Gekkonidae) at Unimas Campus, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak. Unpubl. B.Sc. Thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Aowphol, A., Thirakhupt, K., Nabhitabhata, J., Voris, H.K. (2006): Foraging ecology of the Tokay gecko Gekko gecko in a residential area in Thailand. Amphibia-Reptilia 27: 491–503. Bucol, A., Alcala, A. (2013) Tokay gecko, Gekko gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae) predation on juvenile house rats. Herpetology Notes 6: 307–308. Barragán-Ramírez, J.l., Reyes-Luis, O.E., Ascencio-Arrayga, J.J., Navarrete-Heredia, J.L., Vasquez-Bolaños, M. (2015): Diet and reproductive aspects of the exotic gecko Gehyra mutilata (Wiegmann, 1834) (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in the urban area of Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.) 31: 67���� –��� 73. McKelvy, A., Ozelski-McKelvy, A. (2012): Natural history note. Gekko monarchus (Warty house gecko). Bifurcation. Herpetological Review 43: 132. Meshaka, W.E., Jr., Clouse, R.M., McMahon, L. (1997): Diet of Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) in southern Florida. Florida Field Naturalist 25: 105–107. Saenz, D. (1996): Dietary overview of Hemidactylus turcicus with
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Figure 1. Gecko monarchus feeding on bread. (A-B) G. monarchus inside the plastic bag in which it was eating bread. (C) The top slice of bread from the previous pictures with clear signs of feeding on the left edge and slightly below the centre.
possible implications of food partioning. Journal of Herpetology 30: 461–466. Somaweera, R., Hsu, W., Octavia, M. (2007): One gecko, two geckos, not few geckos - but many geckos! Spatial partitioning among geckos at Lambir Hills National Park. Biodiversity of Borneo Harvard Field Course 2007. Available at http:// phylodiversity.net/bb07/students/ruchira/ images_pdfs/pro1_ geckos.pdf. Accessed on 13 September 2017. Tang, D.Y., Liang, Q., Liu, S. (1985): Observation on the behavior and habits of tokays (Gekko gecko Linnaeus). Journal of Science and Medicine of Jinan University 1985: 67–72.
Tanalgo, K.C., Hughes, A.C. (2017): First evidence of nectarvory by four-clawed gecko, Gehyra mutilata (Wiegmann, 1834) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) on a bat-pollinated Calabash tree (Crescentia cujete L.) (Bignoniaceae) in Southcentral Mindanao, Philippines. Herpetology Notes. 10: 493-496 Tkaczenko, G.K., Fischer, A.C., Weterings, R. (2014): Prey preference of the Common House Geckos Hemidactylus frenatus and Hemidactylus platyurus. Herpetology Notes 7: 483–488. Weterings, R. (2017): Observations of an opportunistic feeding strategy in flat-tailed house geckos (Hemidactylus platyurus) living in buildings. Herpetology Notes 10: 133–135.
Accepted by Anamarija Zagar
