📸 PhotoPhoto: Akira Takao · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Kuroiwa's Eyelid Gecko
Goniurosaurus kuroiwae (Kuroiwa's Eyelid Gecko · クロイワトカゲモドキ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A snout-to-vent length of 94 mm is slightly longer than the long side of a credit card (about 85.6 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Effective February 14, 2021, Japan listed 7 species endemic to Okinawa and Amami, including this species, on CITES Appendix III, requiring a certificate of origin for international trade (Ministry of the Environment of Japan press release).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Kuroiwa's Eyelid Gecko is an eyelid gecko endemic to the Okinawa Islands of Japan, divided into subspecies across different islands and regulated in international trade by Japan under CITES.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Across subspecies, male snout-to-vent length reaches up to 88–94 mm, with both crossbands and longitudinal stripes on the back and reddish irises.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It lives mainly in natural evergreen broadleaf forests and recovered secondary forests, and in one subspecies females lay 2 eggs at a time in June–July. It is oviparous, and road construction, roadkill, and collection are cited as threats.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List VU (2017) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/98152257/96877452
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3GXYV
- • iucnredlist.org — 96877452
- • wikidata.org — Q866646
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:GoniurosaurusAT.JPG
- • env.go.jp — 109206.pdf
- • env.go.jp — 2498.html
- • reptile-database.reptarium.cz — species
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Goniurosaurus liboensis)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.