I came across several of these geckos on the paved roads at night. One of them hopped like a frog or grasshopper as I tried to shoo it off of the road. I caught this second one in the act of licking its own eye, a habit common to many geckos. Many geckos have no eyelids, and they clean their eyes with their tongues.

Until recently, and in all the reference books I've got, this species was placed in the genus Diplodactylus. Australian ecologist Mark Sanders informed me that they had recently been split into the genus Strophurus.

The definitions of the subspecies seem to have drifted over the years, but based on the latest Cogger and Wilson and Swan guides, these are S. c. aberrans by both location and description.

Here is a complete list of the reptiles and frogs I saw on this trip to Australia.

I like the confident look with which these geckos strut across the roads at night.

A couple more from near Yulara. One characteristic of this species is the set of spines above the eyes, which are very noticeable in the in the gecko above.

I couldn't resist throwing in one more from near Yulara a couple of nights later. Something about this position, the splayed toes, and the way the gecko is looking up really catches my eye.