Common salamanquesa: characteristics

The common salamanquesa ( Tarentola Mauritanica ) is a reptile belonging to the family of geconides ( Gekkonidae ) popularly known as "geckos".They are present in the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and many other countries.Due to their curious morphology, Some people wonder, is salamanquesa poisonous? The truth is that no, it is a totally harmless animal .

In this Animals and Pets Online file we will show you everything you need to know about the common salamanquesa: origin, characteristics, habitat , food or reproduction.Read more, you'll be surprised to learn more about this little reptile!

Origin of the common salamanquesa

The salamanquesa is native to the western Mediterranean , although it is currently scattered around the world, mainly due to commercial activities, which have moved it to places as far away and exotic as Africa or America.Also by human mediation I reach the Balearic Islands and the Azores.But in addition, the salamanquesa has been able to adapt superbly to new climatic and geographical conditions, due to its morphological characteristics.

Specifically, the variety present in the Peninsula Iberica and Balearic Islands is called Mauritanian Tarentola .Although in these places there are three different genetic lineages, all are included within the same subspecies.greater populations are registered in the center, the east and the peninsular south, despite being salamanquesas practically in any geographical point of the peninsula.In the Canary Islands found 4 species of endemic salamanquesas, being able to coexist with the common salamanquesa, although exhaustive studies have not yet been carried out.

Characteristics of the common salamanquesa

The salamanquesa is a small-sized reptile .It usually measures between 80 mm and 90 mm in length, reaching 190 mm if the tail is taken into account, which is especially long.This limb usually represents about 44% and 51% of the total length of newborns, as well as 50% and up to 56.5% of the total length in adult specimens.

The tail, body and head are "crushed" dorsoventrally, that is, are flattened , which makes it easy for them to easily sneak out and access intricate recesses of difficult entry for other animals.When regenerate its tail , after falling for some reason, it appears without lumps or bumps, looking smooth and soft to the touch.

The legs end in five laterally widened fingers and with 12 Adhesive subdigital lamellae, which are that allow them to climb even on the flattest and slipperiest surfaces as, like crystals or metal, only females have some in the five fingers, since males only have them in the third and fourth.The head, wide and triangular, has Polygon-shaped scales , with a neck that has a marked neck.It has large, prominent eyes of vertical pupils and marked nostrils.

In general, common salamanquesas are grisaceo color turning brownish, being able to present a high variability that picks up from almost white gray to one so dark that it looks black.The ventral zone usually presents a much lighter shade than the rest of the body.As for the color, this changes from day to night , being darker during the day to better tolerate the incidence of sunlight.

Habitat of the common salamanquesa

Despite being distributed over a wide variety of geographical areas, the salamanquesa prefers temperate or tropical climates , because it does not support excessive cold well, which is why it is usually found in places below 600 meters high, although populations have been found that are established in sites more than 2350 meters high, such as the Sierra Nevada, in Granada.

Salamanquesa does not need much to live, just have shelter available in trunks, rocks or buildings, such as houses and walls.They are usually seen in scrubland areas , but not so much in forests or cultivation areas and plantations.It is common to see them even in large cities, because it easily finds places where protect yourself.

Reproduction of the common salamanquesa

The reproductive cycle of the salamanquesa begins in January , when the males begin to feel stimulated to find a mate with whom to procreate, but it is in spring when the copula occurs, specifically in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, this happens between March and July .This process has the particularity that during the act the male bites the female in the belly .

Up to 6 or 7 laid, of 1 or 2 eggs , which usually measure around 10x12 millimeters, can be produced by the same strand in the same breeding season.They have registered eight cases in which several laying of different strands are concentrated in the same space, gathering more than 50 eggs.

Normally the laying is carried out in a sheltered place, such as holes in the logs or in cracks of the walls buried in the ground.The female incubates the eggs between 45 and 70 days , depending on the time of inc The temperature is lower, in the case of favorable weather conditions.When the young are born, they measure between 40-58 mm in total length.

Common salamanquesa feeding

Salamanquesas are mainly insectivorous animals , although in times of famine and scarcity of resources they can even practice cannibalism, eating specimens of smaller-sized salamanches.The most consumed insects are flies and mosquitoes , moths, spiders, butterflies or crickets, depending on the types of invertebrates that most abound in the area in question.

Being nocturnal animals , its peak of activity is reached at nightfall, at which time they take the intake of these insects, although it is not common to have a salamanquesa as a pet, if we decided to have one at home, we should provide a terrarium that meets the basic needs of space and hygiene, as well as base your diet on insects such as flies, crickets and others.

How long does a salamanquesa live?

The life expectancy of the salamanquesa is really surprising, since they can live between 6 and 12 years , a really extraordinary figure.

Bibliography

Tarentola mauritanica (Linnaeus, 1758).Common Salamanquesa, Drago comu (cat.), Dragoitxo arrunta (eusk.), Osga (gal.)-Atlas and Red Book of Amphibians and Reptiles of Spain
SPECIES BACKGROUND SHEET, Phyllodactylus gerrhopygus (Wiegmann, 1834), Salamanqueja del Norte grande-Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (Government of Chile)
Salamanquesa comun-Tarentola mauritanica (Linnaeus , 1758)-Virtual encyclopedia of Spanish vertebrates-Natural Museum of Natural Sciences CSIC

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