Coleonyx variegatus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus) is a species of lizard in the family Eublepharidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico. Five subspecies are recognized.
In the United States, C. variegatus is found in Arizona, southern California, southwestern New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. In California, it is found in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts In Mexico, it is found in northwestern Baja California and Sonora.
Five subspecies of C. variegatus are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. Coleonyx variegatus abbotti Klauber, 1945 – San Diego banded gecko Coleonyx variegatus bogerti Klauber, 1945 – Tucson banded gecko
Coleonyx variegatus sonoriensis Klauber, 1945 – Sonoran banded gecko Coleonyx variegatus utahensis Klauber, 1945 – Utah banded gecko Coleonyx variegatus variegatus (Baird, 1858) – desert banded gecko Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Coleonyx.
The western banded gecko is a terrestrial lizard, ranging in total length (including tail) from 4... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | The Living Planet Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Grand Canyon National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Banded Gecko sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Banded Gecko in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and October–April, the lowest months. Those are among Grand Canyon National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in March.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Banded 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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Western Banded Gecko sightings, Grand Canyon National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Death Valley National Park (United States, about 30%), Saguaro National Park (United States, about 20%) and Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Banded Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Grand Canyon National Park (6 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.
