The Stephen's Island gecko (Toropuku stephensi), also known commonly as the Cook Strait striped gecko, Stephen's sticky-toed gecko, and the striped gecko, is a species of gecko in the genus Toropuku in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe preferred natural habitats of T. stephensi are coastal forest and shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to 225 m (738 ft). T. stephensi is known from several small islands in the Cook Strait between North Island and South Island of New Zealand. It was first described from Stephens Island, and occurs in higher densities on Maud Island. In 2019, a population was also established on Puangiangi Island. A discontinuous population found in the Coromandel Peninsula of North Island was given its own species, T. inexpectatus, in 2020.
T. stephensi is viviparous and has a low reproductive rate, with females giving birth to 1-2 young every other year. Sexual maturity is estimated to be at six years, and total life expectancy exceeds 16 years.
As of 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the Stephen's Island gecko as Nationally Vulnerable under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
The IUCN lists T. stephensi as endangered, as it occupies limited areas at a small population density. Mainland populations in particular (now T. inexpectatus ) are under pressure from introduced cats, rodents, and stoats. Urban development and a higher density of cats intensifies this pressure near the town of Coromandel. In 2020, T. stephensi was split into two species, with the Coromandel peninsula populations placed into T. inexpectatus. A re-evaluation of T. stephensi 's conservation status is necessary, as the species is now believed to be restricted to the three islands in the Cook Strait. Despite the small area occupied by the Cook Strait island populations, they seem to be stable and protected from introduced predators, as the islands are nature reserves which can only be accessed by permit.