Abstract
Insular animals are thought to evolve extreme sizes compared to the mainland. The reported maximum body size of the Turkish house gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, does not go beyond 61 mm in snout-vent length, 120 mm in total length and 3.6 g in mass, across its distribution. Here we report much higher size estimates for this species on the Aegean islands of Kassos, Sifnos and Anafi. The commonly perceived drivers of insular gigantism vary across these islands. Therefore, the reasons for the extreme size on these islands, while on other Aegean islands live "normal-sized" geckos, are unclear.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 24-26 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Herpetological Bulletin |
Issue number | 138 |
State | Published - 1 Dec 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology