Afrogecko porphyreus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The marbled leaf-toed gecko (Afrogecko porphyreus) is a gecko found in southern and southwestern South Africa (including many offshore islands) and in Namibia. It is a flat, medium-sized gecko. Afrogecko porphyreus has a mottled, greyish body, a long tail and sometimes a pale stripe along its back. However, its colouration varies from almost black-and-buff patterning to smudged shades of buff. It is an adaptable little forager, hiding under debris, beneath bark, among rocks, and even in city houses.
These geckos eat large numbers of small insects, so a population of them living on one's property serves as a natural form of pest-control. Their diet is an array of invertebrates, including feeder insects. Domestic cats commonly kill large numbers of these lizards, sometimes exterminating them in a local area. They also are preyed upon by species of spiders in the genus Palystes, which may be more effective gecko predators than cats.
As in many similar gecko species, one of their major defences is autotomy of their tails. In some populations nearly all mature specimens have tails that have either regenerated or are in the process of regeneration. This... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and June–September, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko sightings, West Coast National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 30%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 20%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Gekkonidae
The closest relatives of the Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko that you can see in West Coast National Park (family Gekkonidae, Typical Geckos) are Striped Pygmy Gecko (about 20%) and Cradock Thick-toed Gecko (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko is recorded against all the reptiles logged in West Coast National Park (15 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.
