Hemidactylus mercatorius
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The merchant gecko (Hemidactylus mercatorius) is a species of gecko. There has been confusion between it and Hemidactylus mabouia, making it difficult to establish the ranges of the species. While the Reptile Database gives Hemidactylus mercatorius a wide distribution in eastern Africa, the IUCN restricts its native distribution to Madagascar and some other islands in the Indian Ocean (the Comoros, Seychelles, Mayotte). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Farquhar Half-toed Gecko sighting in Antananarivo on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 7 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Farquhar Half-toed Gecko in Antananarivo on a given day, against under 5% in April–June, August–October and December, the lowest months.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Farquhar Half-toed Gecko sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Antananarivo, in our data
Antananarivo is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Farquhar Half-toed Gecko sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Gekkonidae
The closest relatives of the Farquhar Half-toed Gecko that you can see in Antananarivo (family Gekkonidae, Typical Geckos) are Striped Day Gecko (about 80%), Mutilating Gecko (about 20%) and Robust Dwarf Gecko (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Farquhar Half-toed Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Antananarivo (12 verified sightings), 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.
