Chondrodactylus turneri
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Turner's thick-toed gecko (Chondrodactylus turneri) is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa. C. turneri is large and robust, with a snout-vent length (SVL) of 10 cm (3.9 in).
The specific name, turneri, is in honor of British entomologist James Aspinall Turner. C. turneri is found in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Turner's thick-toed gecko is nocturnal and lives on rocks and buildings. C. turneri is an ambush predator and feeds on invertebrates and whatever else it can catch and overpower. C. turneri is oviparous. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Pachydactylus turneri, pp. 254–255 + Plate 84).
Eifler MA, Marchand R, Eifler DA, Malela K (2017). "Habitat Use and Activity Patterns in the Nocturnal Gecko, Chondrodactylus turneri ". Herpetologica 73... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Turner's Thick-toed Gecko sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 120 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 62 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.
July and September–March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Turner's Thick-toed Gecko in Kruger National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April–June and August, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Turner's Thick-toed Gecko sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Turner's Thick-toed Gecko sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 40%).
Same family: Gekkonidae
The closest relatives of the Turner's Thick-toed Gecko that you can see in Kruger National Park (family Gekkonidae, Typical Geckos) are Tropical House Gecko (about 30%), Cape Dwarf Gecko (about 30%) and Wahlberg's Velvet Gecko (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Turner's Thick-toed Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kruger National Park (120 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.
