Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus levis levis)

[moloch]

I only found a single Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus levis levis) at Mutawintji. The gecko was spotted by chance in this field as I turned my car around at the entrance to the national park. It was standing on the sand near the fallen branch at the bottom right of the following photo:

I think that Smooth Knob-tailed Geckos are among the most attractive of all geckos. This one was large and appeared well fed despite the harsh, dry conditions. I saw a number of big flightless crickets on the road and imagine that they made good gecko food.

The knob-tail had a bit of old damage to its left eye-brow.

The ball at the end of the tail was small when compared with those that I have encountered in Western Australia.

 

[clint545]

Some more great pics Just curious, in the pic of his damaged brow, is that a tick/mite on his chin?

 

[moloch]

Thanks, Clint.

I had not noticed the object on the throat. I just enlarged the photo. It looks like a tick but I cannot be certain.

 

[Shawnsc10]

Despite the few cuts and bruises, the gecko seems to be very impressive when compared to some of the wild ones I have seen before.

It also appears to be a female.

Nice Shots,
Shawn

 

[Sarah]

...and gravid. Looks like it's had its knob pulled off though, and a little knobble has grown in its place, one of my male knobbies has a tail just like it.

:0)

 

[GoldenGateGeckos]

AWESOME!!! Seeing the natural habitat of these fantastic little geckos is wonderful, as well as a nice, healthy wild specimen. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

Do you have pics of their natural food? I.E. like the big flightless crickets, I am curious what these look like and how their sizes compare to our domestics.

Thanks David again for such a informative post on these. I just got a pair (like 4th pair) and loving them again!

 

[saltuarius]

Curious question Ken, is something that is not in the habit of born in mind. We wait for the answer.

Best regards,
Roberto.

Great pictures!

 

[moloch]

Thanks for the replies.

Sarah,
It was interesting to hear that the knob was regenerated, hence the small size. I did not know that knob-tails did this. Also, thanks for pointing out that this girl was gravid.

Ken and Saltuarius,
I unfortunately did not take a photo of the crickets. The crickets were large (2-3 cm long), heavy-bodied, had no wings but did have an enormus upwardly curved ovipositor. The ovipositor was nearly as long as the body. The jaws were big. The body of the cricket was ringed with black and brown bands. The overall shape was a little like a camel cricket in North America but larger.

Regards,
David

 

[moloch]

Hello Ken and Saltuarius,

I found a photo of the criket today in an Austrailan Insect guide. The cricket is in the family Gryllacridae and genus Pareremus. They grow to about 2.5cm in length. These insects live in holes in the ground during the day and then emerge at night to eat vegetative matter. Some are predaceous.

Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any photos on the net.

Regards,
David

 

[moloch]

Adam (Ads) from the ARK forum posted photos of the crickets from Mutawintji and Wilcannia a few days ago. Ads was out there just recently and found these crickets on the road. As you can see, they are big insects. Ads kindly gave me permission to add his photos to this posting.

Another member of the forum commented that the crickets are quite tasty when fried.

 

[Sarah]

Holy moly, they are mean looking things!

 

[saltuarius]

hahaha,really thank you David!!!For me it´s very interesant to see them. Say thanks to Adam

Best regards,
roberto.

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

Interesting! Yes, say thanks to Adam as well.

Red crickets eh? Hmm...would be nice to get something of that nature sent over here in the US...

 

[Amyae]

Hi all,

Really interesting pictures. But what I think is most interesting is the absence of "wings" on the male, so they have to be quite harmful for our ears

Apart from that, amazing colour they have.

As always nice photos, incredible collaboration

BR

Luis Casasús

 

[Lucy 101]

WOW
sweet geckos
i own some knob tails but their patterns are quite simple compared to this one!!!

 

[oli]

Looks like she's got a little tick and a little scar on her eye lid, but incredible non-the-less. Regular crickets seem to work fine for me, gut I'd like to get a colony of those non chirping red crickets to give my aussies are more 'naturalistic'