Gekko monarchus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Gekko monarchus, also called the spotted house gecko, is a species of gecko found in the Malay Peninsula (including southern Thailand and Singapore), some smaller Malaysian islands, Borneo (Brunei, East Malaysia and Kalimantan), the Philippines, many Indonesian islands including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and New Guinea (Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea).
This lizard has the typical body build of the genus Gekko - it appears flat and has a rough skin with small bumps on its back. Their tails regenerate once dropped, as with most gecko species. The regenerated tail will never look the same as the original (it has a different texture and slightly odd color).
Similar to common house geckos and dtellas, males make quiet clicking sounds when courting a female; both sexes are capable of chirping and "barking". When startled or alarmed, the gecko waves its tail quickly and may breathe heavily, making a sound not unlike hissing.
They have a W spot on the backs of their heads, typical for this species. Monarch geckos are strictly insectivorous, feeding on various types of insects (roaches, crickets, flies, spiders, even wasps). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuching | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Johor Bahru | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 5 | Tainan | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted House Gecko sighting in Tainan on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 11 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted House Gecko in Tainan on a given day, against under 5% in February–May, July, October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Tainan's wettest months, with about 440 mm of rain against 30 mm in February.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted House Gecko sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Spotted House Gecko sightings, Tainan ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kuching (Malaysia, about 40%), Johor Bahru (Malaysia, about 20%) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted House Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tainan (11 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.
