What animal has the scientific name "Eublepharis macularius"?

Question

I know, but do you?

Answer 1

Eublepharis macularius, commonly known as the Leopard Gecko, is a nocturnal ground dwelling gecko commonly found in the desert areas of Pakistan, Northwestern India and Afghanistan

The leopard gecko gets its common name from the adult coloration of wild specimen, which is generally a cream to yellow ground color with black spots. Leopard geckos are considered one of the easiest lizard species to breed. Artificial selection in captivity has produced a number of distinct color morphs, possessing many varied colors and patterns. Some of these include: High yellow, orange, striped, patternless (no spots or stripes), lavender, "blizzard lizard" (which are solid white), and amelanistic (no black pigments in markings).

Leopard geckos are one of only a few gecko species (all of them old-world species) that have eyelids. This helps the gecko keep its eyes clean and particle-free in its dusty environment. Most geckos clean and moisten their eyes with their tongues. Another interesting difference in leopard geckos from most other gecko species is the absence of adhesive toe pads. Instead, they have small claws. Leopard geckos cannot climb walls or glass, although their claws give extra traction on the ground, the same applies for the same group of old world geckos having eyelids. Like all geckos, they shed their tail if chased or grabbed, though they will eventually grow a new one. However, the new tail will look nothing like the old one, having a monotone color and bulbous shape.

In its natural environment, the leopard gecko lives under rocks or in small caves to avoid temperature extremes. Like many desert dwelling species it is most active at night, hunting insects, scorpions, spiders, and small rodents as its prey.

Leopard geckos are only slightly sexually dimorphic, with the males being somewhat more heavy-bodied than females. Males possess a V-shaped row of enlarged pre-anal pores and a pair of hemipenal swellings at the base of the tail. Females have pre-anal pits and lack paired swelling at the base of the tail. Gender is differentiated during egg incubation and is dependent on the incubation temperature, but gender characteristics are not visible in young geckos.

Leopard Geckos are widely considered to be a very good pet for a beginning herpetoculturist for several reasons: their small size, ease of care, cleanliness (they tend to defecate in one corner of their enclosure), long life span (up to 30 years), and wide color range. They can usually be handled well by older children with the close supervision of an adult, as their tails can fall off if stressed or frightened.

Leopard geckos are easily available commercially. They are one of the few lizard species regularly bred in captivity in large enough numbers that captive-produced specimens are easily obtained at pet stores. As with crested geckos, leopard geckos are a good choice fo someone who wants a pet lizard but doesn't want to keep wild-caught animals. These geckos are very inexpensive especially in contrast to other reptiles and in the context of their beauty, tolerance of being handled, simplicity of care, simplicity to breed & other plusses.

A 'regular' leopard gecko generally consists of mostly yellow, black & green blotches & stripes. Such a gecko can be purchased at most pet stores that have a reptile department and will typically cost between $20-35.


A leucistic leopard gecko.In recent years, breeders have created special morphs of leopard geckos to obtain more attractive colouring patterns. These morphs range anywhere from costing $50 or so for a standard tangerine gecko, characterized by an orange body, to up to $800 for geckos with special stripes, vivid colouring and so forth. Generally these expensive morphs will not be found in most pet stores & need to be ordered from breeders. Most pet stores do however carry blizzard leopard geckos, characterized as the name implies by a white, often colourless skin. Many stores also carry albino leopard geckos which often have anything ranging from very pretty bands to no pattern at all.


Leopard geckos feed almost exclusively on live insects. The most commercially available insect are crickets, which are also the most nutritional staple food source for a leopard gecko. Crickets are inexpensive and can be kept in a Rubbermaid container along with a source of moisture and food (available commercially from several companies),or in small plastic boxes with egg box inside.

Locusts can be slightly more expensive than crickets and are generally enjoyed more by the gecko. A good food to keep the locusts alive and healthy is to feed them dandelion leaves coated in lizard vitamin powder. if you do not feed the locusts, they will die and not be eaten.

Another good staple food for leopard geckos are mealworms. When fed as a staple, regular mealworms (less than a centimetre each in length) should be used; 'giant' mealworms are genetic mutations designed to prevent the mealworm from transforming into a beetle and are nothing more than fish bait. Feeding giant mealworms to leopard geckos is unnecessary and at times dangerous. When mealworms are fed, they can be placed in a small bowl in the gecko's enclosure and left to be consumed. Mealworms not used for feeding can be stored for months at a time in a small container in a fridge. It should be noted that mealworms are quite high in phosphorus.

Mealworms are also ideal if you plan on travelling. Leaving 50-70 mealworms in a bowl will satisfy two or three geckos for up to a week, as long as fresh water is supplied a couple times over that week. This should only be done when necessary (vacation, etc.) as after several days the insects will fully digest their "gutload" and will no longer offer the gecko the same level of nutritional value.

Treats should also be given to geckos occasionally if possible for variation in diet and extra nutrients. Silkworms are semi-attractive white insects that can be fed to geckos. Butterworms are high in fat and are a good supplement to a gecko's diet. Waxworms should be treated as treats and can be offered no more than twice a month due to their high fat content. Pinkie (baby) mice can also be fed to adult female geckos who are gravid.

Food items should be dusted in a calcium powder (available at pet stores) almost every other feeding. Products containing D-3 should not be used more than weekly as this substance can be dangerous in large doses. To dust, simply place food items in a small plastic bag with a bit of the calcium dust and shake. A small dish (such as a milk bottle top) of pure calcium should also be left in the enclosure at all times.

Feeding schedules are very subjective. Up until one year of age, geckos should be fed at least five times a week up to seven times a week with appropriately sized crickets. Adult geckos can be fed anywhere from every other day to two or three times weekly as long as they appear healthy and their tail (which contains fat reserves) remains healthy.

A small dish of purified water should be kept in the enclosure at all times and changed four or more times a week as needed.

It is important to note that all insects feed to a leopard gecko need to be 'gut loaded'. This is a process in which the insects are fed on a healthy diet which can consist of oats, fish food, bran flakes, cereal, fruit, etc. Many companies exist that produce commercial made gut load food. Without gut loading an insect is nothing more than a 'empty shell' and offers little nuitritional value to the Leopard Gecko.

Many people new to keeping reptiles have heard an urban legend that mealworms can eat through a lizard's stomach, and that you need to decapitate mealworms before feeding them to a leopard gecko. These rumors are false; there no confirmed cases of this occurring.

Many people own and house multiple geckos. They can be kept separately or in groups. Female leopard geckos are able to be housed in groups, but problems with stress and dominance are likely to occur, so it is not advised. If females are to be housed together then it is important to offer enough space. A 30-gallon aquarium would be sufficient for three females. Males must be housed separately. They will fight over territory and some cases of fighting have lead to death of one or both of the geckos.

A male shouldn't be housed full-time with any less than three females. The male's perpetual sex drive will stress out the females over time. Adult leopard geckos of the opposite sex housed will mate. Each female will deposit eggs every 4-6 weeks in increments of 1-2 eggs per laying.

A ten gallon aquarium can house a single adult gecko its entire life. Naturally, a twenty gallon would be more adequate and allow for a better thermal gradient.

For housing more than two adult geckos, a general rule to follow is to start at twenty gallons & add another 5 gallons for each additional gecko (i.e. 2 geckos = 25 gallons minimum; 4 = 35 etc).

Answer 2

Leopard Gecko

Answer 3

So they know exactly which species is being studied. There are over 300,000 species of beetles, when doing a scientific study it is important to identify what you are studying precisely. They use Latin because not all scientists are English speakers. Latin has long been used as a common language in science.

Answer 4

The leopard gecko, a native of Pakistan.

Answer 5

These people OBVIOUSLY didn't know. They looked it up... They copied and pasted the term "Eublepharis macularius" onto Yahoo search engine. I will admit that I didn't know, but it interested me, so after everyone sed their answers, I looked it up to find out more. I am Stupid!

Answer 6

leopard gecko

Answer 7

try this