Tokay Gecko

About the Tokay Gecko

The tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) is a nocturnal arboreal gecko in the genus Gekko, the true geckos. It is native to Asia and some Pacific Islands. The word "tokay" is an onomatopoeia of the sound made by males of this species. The common and scientific names, as well as the family name Gekkonidae and the generic term "gecko" come from this species, too, from gekok [ɡekoʔ] in Java Malay, corresponding to tokek [tokeʔ] in Batavian Malay and to tĕkek [təkeʔ] and gokek [ɡokeʔ] in Peninsular Malay.

Two subspecies are currently recognized: G. g. gecko (Linnaeus, 1758) occurs in tropical Asia from northeastern India to eastern Indonesia. G. g. azhari (Mertens, 1955) is found only in Bangladesh. This species is found in northeast India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh; throughout Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia; and toward western New Guinea. Its native habitat is rainforests, where it lives on trees and cliffs, and it frequently adapts to rural human habitations, roaming walls and ceilings at night in search of insect prey. This is an introduced species in some areas... Wikipedia →