Manapany Day Gecko

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Manapany Day Gecko :: Phelsuma inexpectata
Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 041

On today’s show we learn about the Manapany Day Gecko, a critically endangered reptile native to Reunion Island, a French Department in the Indian Ocean, roughly 1000 miles east of the African coast.

  • (00:05) Intro
  • (02:05) Species Information
  • (30:42) Citations
  • (32:57) Music
  • (38:59) Pledge

 

For more information about Manapany Day Gecko conservation see the Association Nature Ocean Indien at https://natureoceanindien.org

 

Research for today’s show was compiled from:

  • Amphibia-Reptilia 44, 2 (2023): 139-152. Choeur, Arthur, Johanna Clémencet, Matthieu Le Corre, Markus A. Roesch, and Mickaël Sanchez. “Intra-annual variations of microhabitat use and movements of a critically endangered arboreal day gecko endemic to Reunion Island: implications for conservation”. – https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10125
  • Bulletin de la Société mathématique de France. 126. 9-23. Deso, Grégory & Probst, Jean-Michel & Sanchez, Mickaël & Ineich, Ivan. (2008). “Phelsuma inexpectata Mertens, 1966 et Phelsuma borbonica Mertens, 1942 (Squamata : Gekkonidae) : deux geckos potentiellement pollinisateurs de l’île de La Réunion”. – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262917641
  • Bulletin de la Société herpétologique de France v.132 (2009): 43-69. Sanchez, Mickaël, Jean-Michel Probst, and Grégory Deso. “Phelsuma inexpectata Mertens, 1966 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) sur l’île de La Réunion: écologie, répartition et menaces.” – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293695437
  • Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de France, v.185. 2024. Jérémie Souchet, Valentin Vaslet, Julien Ducros, Chloé Bernet, Markus A Roesch. “La fourmi envahissante Anoplolepis gracilipes, une menace pour le gecko endémique de l’île de La Réunion, Phelsuma inexpectata ? The invasive ant Anoplolepis gracilipes, a threat to Reunion Island’s endemic gecko, Phelsuma inexpectata?”. – https://dx.doi.org/10.48716/bullshf.185-6
  • Bulletin Phaethon, no.53 2021: 36-40. Porcel, Xavier & Deso, Grégory & Jean-Michel, Probst & Dubos, Nicolas. (2021). “Sympatrie entre le Gecko vert de Manapany Phelsuma inexpectata endémique de la Réunion et le Gecko vert poussière d’or P. laticauda introduits au Domaine du Café Grillé: peuvent-ils cohabiter?” – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349126355
  • Cahiers scientifiques de l’océan Indien occidental 2, 2011: 13-28. Sanchez, Mickael & Jean-Michel, Probst. (2011). “Distribution and conservation status of the Manapany day gecko, Phelsuma inexpectata MERTENS, 1966, an endemic threatened reptile from Réunion Island (Squamata: Gekkonidae).” – https://api.core.ac.uk/oai/oai:ojs.www.cahiers-wio.org:article/12 
  • Current Biology, Volume 34, Issue 21, 4908 - 4919.e3. Han, Dawei. Carr, Catherine E. “Auditory pathway for detection of vibration in the tokay gecko.” – http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.016 
  • Herpetological Review. 52. 859-860. Sanchez, Mickael & Joly, Isabelle & Cazanove, Grégory. (2021). “Phelsuma Inexpectata (Manapany Day Gecko). Predation.” – https://doi.org/10.48716/bullshf.186-8 
  • The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T17450049A17450059. Sanchez, M. 2021. “Phelsuma inexpectata.” – https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T17450049A17450059.en
  • Journal of Tropical Ecology 29, no. 3 (2013): 251–54. Clémencet, Johanna, Cyril Aubert, Doriane Blottière, and Mickaël Sanchez. “Kleptoparasitism in the Endemic Gecko Phelsuma Inexpectata: Pollen Theft from Foraging Honeybees on Réunion.” – https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467413000229
  • Molecular Biology Reports v.50, 5501–5507 (2023). Gomard, Y., Sanchez, M., Bonanno, A. et al. “Development and characterization of twenty microsatellite markers for Phelsuma inexpectata (Squamata: Gekkonidae), a critically endangered gecko endemic to Reunion Island.” –  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-023-08426-0
  • Salamandra. 58, no.2: 116–122. Choeur, Arthur & Clémencet, Johanna & Corre, Matthieu & Sanchez, Mickael. (2022). “Evidence of seasonal reproduction, laying site fidelity, and oviposition synchronicity in the critically endangered endemic Manapany Day Gecko (Phelsuma inexpectata) from Reunion Island (western Indian Ocean).” – https://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/contents/2022-vol-58
  • Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Réunion_Island_ornate_day_gecko

 

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A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.