Coleonyx variegatus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 Joshua Tree National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Banded Gecko sighting in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 39 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Western Banded Gecko in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March and November, the lowest months.
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.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Western Banded Gecko sightings, Joshua Tree National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Death Valley National Park (United States, about 30%) and Saguaro 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 Joshua Tree National Park (49 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.
