Gilbert's leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus gilberti), also known commonly as the Wenman Island gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. The species is endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
Etymology The specific name, gilberti, is in honor of American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Phyllodactylus gilberti, p. 1000).
Geographic range P. gilberti is only found on two small islands, Darwin Island and Wolf Island, in the Galápagos archipelago of Ecuador.
The type locality is "Wenman Island", which is a name previously used for Wolf Island.
Habitat The preferred natural habitats of P. gilberti are shrubland and rocky areas at altitudes from sea level to .
Description P. gilberti may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Dorsally, it is slate-blue with darker blotches and spots. There is a light gray stripe from the nape of the neck to the middle of the back. Ventrally, it is pale lemon-colored, except for the throat which is light flesh-colored.Van Denburgh J (1907). "Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905–1906. VI. The Geckos of the Galapagos Archipelago". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 1: 405–430. (Phyllodactylus gilberti, pp. 413–416).
Reproduction P. gilberti is oviparous.
References
Further reading Heller E (1903). "Papers from the Hopkins Stanford Galapagos Expedition, 1898–1899. XIV. Reptiles". Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences 5: 39–98. (Phyllodactylus gilberti, new species, pp. 61–63). Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekkanten Geckotaxa (Reptilia:Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Phyllodactylus gilberti, p. 104). (in German). Swash, Andy; Still, Rob (2006). Birds, Mammals & Reptiles of the Galápagos Islands, 2nd Edition. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. 168 pp. . Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D (2019). "Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich online portal, with dynamic checklists and photographic guides". Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1) [General Section]: 209–229 (e178). Torres-Carvajal O, Rodríguez-Guerra A, Chaves JA (2016). "Present diversity of Galápagos leaf-toed geckos (Phyllodactylidae: Phyllodactylus) stems from three independent colonization events". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 103: 1–5.