Hemidactylus mabouia
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia), also called the cosmopolitan house gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is also found in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, where it has been inadvertently introduced by humans.
The tropical house gecko has an average total length of 10–12.7 centimetres (3.9–5.0 in) (including tail) and an average mass of 4.6 grams (0.16 oz). Females are on average somewhat larger than males, with the male average snout-to-vent length (SVL) being 51.56 mm (2.030 in) and the female average SVL being 54.47 mm (2.144 in). Normally coloured in black and brown bands, this gecko can slowly change its colour based on its ambient temperature and lighting; its scales vary in colour from dark brown to light grey. The tropical house gecko bears particularly scaly lamellae on the underside of its toes, enabling it to grip onto vertical surfaces.
The diet of H. mabouia is varied, and includes animals such as isopods, centipedes, spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, beetles, moths, flies, mosquitoes, snails, slugs, frogs, anoles, other geckos and blind... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Maputo | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 3 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | São Luís | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Zanzibar City | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 8 | Lilongwe | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 9 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tropical House Gecko sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 39th most-seen of the 41 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tropical House Gecko in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tropical House 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.
27th of 27
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Tropical House Gecko sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 27th at under 5%. The best odds are in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (Trinidad and Tobago, about 50%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 50%) and Amboró National Park (Bolivia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Gekkonidae
The closest relatives of the Tropical House Gecko that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (family Gekkonidae, Typical Geckos) are Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko (about 30%) and Cape Dwarf Gecko (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tropical House Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Table Mountain 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.
