Phelsuma parva
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Lesser Madagascar Day Gecko
I think "Lesser Madagascar Day Gecko" is a particularly inappropriate name for this gorgeous gecko. First, it implies that there is a "Greater Madagascar Day Gecko" and that there are only two Madagascar day geckos, both of which are false. Second, there's nothing "lesser" about this beauty.
This was considered a subspecies of Phelsuma quadriocellata until 2010.
Here is a list of all the reptiles and frogs I saw on this 2023 trip to Madagascar.
Online references:
- Phelsuma parva account on The Reptile Database
- Phelsuma parva account on iNaturalist
- Sara Rocha, Herbert Rösler, Philip-Sebastian Gehring, Frank Glaw, David Posada, D. James Harris, & Miguel Vences, 2010. Phylogenetic systematics of day geckos, genus Phelsuma, based on molecular and morphological data (Squamata: Gekkonidae)
Printed references:
- Glaw, F., Vences, M. 2007. A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition