Gehyra lazelli
—
Southern Rock Dtella
I found these geckos under logs throughout my time in South Australia. They didn't move very fast, so as long as I could prevent them from disappearing into a crack then I could usually wrangle them into posing for a photo or two.
At the time, I thought these were Gehyra variegata. I didn't realize that that species had been recently split, and the eastern populations were now considered Gehyra versicolor. But that turned out to be irrelevant, because Australian herp expert Scott Eipper told me that he recognized this photo as Gehyra lazelli based on its dorsal pattern.
This one was also under a small downed log (more of a downed branch really). Rather than try to run off, it just tried to continuously maneuver to the opposite side of the log as I turned it. After playing this game for a while, it eventually stopped in a visible position for long enough that I could get a photo.
Printed references:
- Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition
- Wilson, S. and Swan, G. 2017. A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fifth Edition