Naultinus gemmeus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The jewelled gecko (Naultinus gemmeus) is a threatened species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. This gecko is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Subgroups or populations of the jewelled gecko living in Otago, Canterbury, and Southland can be distinguished by their colour and marking. Male Canterbury jewelled geckos tend to be grey or brown with yellow, purple and white rows of stripes or diamonds. Otago jewelled gecko populations are often green with yellow and white markings, and Southland jewelled geckos are usually solid green.
The jewelled gecko eats a wide variety of insects, such as moths and flies. It also eats berries and, more rarely, nectar. The jewelled gecko and other New Zealand geckos are highly protected and it is illegal to capture or disturb them. The jewelled gecko is often targeted by wildlife smugglers.
Naultinus gemmeus has a bright to olive green body with either stripes or a pattern of diamonds on its back, a pattern which has given the species its common name, and is an important identifying feature. Colours often seen in the stripes or diamond shapes are white, pale green, or yellow. Those colours are often outlined by black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aoraki Mount Cook National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Jewelled Gecko sighting in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Jewelled Gecko in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jewelled Gecko sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, in our data
Aoraki Mount Cook National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Jewelled Gecko sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jewelled Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (13 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
