Saltuarius cornutus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The northern leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuarius cornutus) is a species of the genus Saltuarius, the Australian leaf-tailed geckos. Saltuarius cornutus is a large gecko with a triangular head, narrow neck, a body length to 14 cm and an 8 cm broad, leaf-like tail. Unlike most geckos, it has clawed toes and no adhesive discs, probably due to its arboreal lifestyle. Body is flattened and limbs are long and spindly; dorsal surface bears sharply pointed tubercles (its eponymous "horns"). Camouflage coloration strongly resembles lichen-mottled bark. Its scientific name translates to "Horned Keeper of the Forest".
Nocturnal tree dweller in warm temperate and tropical rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests, typically above 750m, in the Coastal and Great Dividing Ranges in NE Queensland and south to Taree in New South Wales. Active at night and in cool conditions when most reptiles rest. When threatened, the gecko arches its back, raises and wags its tail from side to side to draw attention away from the head- if attacked it will readily shed its tail and grow another; however the new tail will be broader and flatter with different coloration and a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairns Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Daintree National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Leaf-tailed Gecko sighting in Daintree National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 31 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.
January and April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Leaf-tailed Gecko in Daintree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, September and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Daintree National Park's wettest months, with about 270 mm of rain a month against 50 mm in September.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Leaf-tailed Gecko sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Daintree National Park, in our data
Daintree National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Leaf-tailed Gecko sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Leaf-tailed Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Daintree National Park (9 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.
