Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)

Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is an animal species in Gekkonidae, a medium sized reptile, up to 12 cm long, has a black phase, is nocturnal, lives mixed with other species in Gekkonidae in trees, wooden structures in houses and shrubs in the yard.

H. frenatus has a relatively short snout, dorsal gray and whitish and mottled or blackish. Ventral white or slightly yellowish in color. It has no skin tufts on the sides and legs. The tail is round with rows of soft, white skin spikes.

The scales are shaped like fine round spots on the dorsal side and come in various sizes. Having rash arranged in rows is rather rare. Two faint lines on each side of the body from the waist to the hips and a line above the hips.

Rows of soft thorn-like nodules on each side of the tail. A pair of anal pores at the base of the tail at the back of the anus. The tail is slightly reddish orange on the underside towards the tip. Wide scales on the underside of the tail.

The black phase is dorsal black with a whitish band on either side of the lateral from the tip of the snout around the nose to back over the eyes over the tympanum and shoulders, widening at the sides of the body to end around the hips. Paired whitish patches on back, vertebral patches in elongated shape. Striped legs and tail.

The Asian house gecko lives in large trees, woody parts of the house and shrubs in the yard. These reptiles prey on small insects, especially at night.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Infraorder: Gekkota
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Hemidactylus
Species: Hemidactylus frenatus

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

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