Strophurus: australian spiny-tailed geckos.

Miguel A. Suárez

Strophurus geckos are endemic to Australia. They are distributed throughout the continent, except in Tasmania, Victoria and the southeast coast. They inhabit different ecosystems, and can be found in forests, meadows, rocky areas, open fields... generally associated with shrubs, grasses, Spinifex, Leptospermum, Callitris, Melalaeuca, Casuarina, Lomandra or Themeda. They are insectivorous animals that feed mainly on crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, moths and termites.

Natural habitat of Strophurus. Spinifex meadow. — Habitat of Strophurus. Spinifex meadow.

Currently this genus contains 20 species as they were separated from the genus Diplodactylus. The genus Strophurus maintains mainly arboreal species, while the genus Diplodactylus contains terrestrial species.

They are small reptiles, with a length between 3.5-9 cm. These curious animals have the unique characteristic of having a series of caudal glands that they use in stress situations, secreting a substance when contracting the tail musculature that allows, even, to project it to a not inconsiderable distance. It is an odorous and irritating substance for the mucous membranes they use to defend themselves against predators. In regenerated tails we can observe glands that are structurally different from the original ones and the lack of epidermal pores that allow the liquid to escape. This defensive mechanism is uncommon in animals kept in captivity.

As for reproduction, they are animals that produce two eggs per clutch during the breeding season, which runs from September to February. Eggs are laid under rocks, at the base of trees or in abandoned burrows of other animals. The newborn specimens emerge after an incubation of 45 to 80 days at a temperature between 27ºC-30ºC, varying between species.

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