Common name: Baluch Ground Gecko

Scientific name: Bunopus tuberculatus

Family: Gekkonidae

Size:

SVL: about 5.7 cm

Total length: about 13 cm

Tail: about 1–1.2 times the SVL

Identification:

A gecko with a moderately flattened body and a head covered in round, raised granules. The eyes are large, with vertical pupils that have irregular edges. The back has small flat scales and about 14 rows of large, strongly keeled, three-sided tubercles; the belly scales are small and smooth. Colour ranges from light brown to greyish with irregular darker blotches or bars, and a dark stripe runs from the nostril through the eye to the back of the head. The tail is slightly flattened and ringed with enlarged keeled tubercles. Toes are slender and lack toepads. Males have 8–21 preanal pores.

Habitat:

Arid desert areas from sea level to about 400 m, with gravel plains as its principal UAE habitat. Also found on compacted sand such as sandy sabkhas and fossil dunes, and on loose wind-blown sand with sparse vegetation.

Status in the UAE:

Native, not endemic. Widespread in arid desert areas and still reasonably common on the gravel plains.

Diet:

Insectivorous — feeds on insects and other arthropods.

Behavior:

Nocturnal and ground-dwelling. Not venomous. Females lay one or two hard-shelled eggs under stones or in burrows.

Conservation status:

UAE National Red List: Least Concern (LC)

Global: Least Concern (LC)