United Arab Emirates Complete Geckos List

The UAE is home to a remarkable diversity of geckos, from small desert species moving across sand and gravel plains to agile rock-climbing geckos found in wadis, cliffs, and the Hajar Mountains. This page brings together the gecko species recorded in the country, organized by habitat type and terrain to make field identification and trip planning easier. Whether found around human settlements, hidden among boulders, or active on warm desert nights, geckos are one of the most important and visible reptile groups in the UAE.

Common Name	Other Name	Scientific Name	Range	Typical Terrain / Habitat
Arabian Desert Gecko	Baluch Rock Gecko / Southern Tuberculated Gecko	Bunopus tuberculatus	Desert	Sandy and gravel desert, lowland arid plains and desert edges; often active on open ground at night.
Rough Bent-toed Gecko	Rough-tailed Bowfoot Gecko / Common Tuberculate Ground Gecko	Cyrtopodion scabrum	Desert	Buildings, farms, ruins, walls and rocky desert edges; often in disturbed or human-influenced areas.
Yellow-bellied House Gecko	Northern House Gecko / introduced house gecko	Hemidactylus flaviviridis	Desert	Introduced in the UAE; strongly linked to human buildings, houses, ruins and gardens in lowland areas.
Persian Gecko	Persian House Gecko	Hemidactylus persicus	Desert	Lowland rocky or gravelly areas, wadis, old structures and dry desert-edge habitats.
Red Sea House Gecko	Robust House Gecko	Hemidactylus robustus	Desert	Widely distributed outside the Hajar Mountains; mainly ground-dwelling and abundant around human habitations.
Gulf Short-fingered Gecko	Khobar Sand Gecko	Pseudoceramodactylus khobarensis	Desert	Coastal sabkha, salt flats, sandy coastal plains and lowland desert.
Arabian Short-fingered Gecko	Arabian Sand Gecko	Stenodactylus arabicus	Desert	Loose sand, dunes and sandy desert plains.
Middle Eastern Short-fingered Gecko	Doria’s Comb-fingered Gecko	Stenodactylus doriae	Desert	Open desert and sandy or gravelly plains; nocturnal ground gecko.
Eastern Sand Gecko	Southern Short-fingered Gecko	Stenodactylus leptocosymbotes	Desert	Sandy arid areas, dunes and sandy plains; uses sand burrows by day.
Slevin’s Short-fingered Gecko	Slevin’s Sand Gecko	Stenodactylus slevini	Desert	Western UAE sandy desert and lowland arid plains.
Hajar Banded Ground Gecko	Banded Ground Gecko	Trachydactylus hajarensis	Mountains	Rocky ground and boulder fields in the Hajar Mountains.
Emirati Leaf-toed Gecko	UAE Leaf-toed Gecko	Asaccus caudivolvulus	Mountains	Extremely localized UAE coastal rocky habitat; agile climber on rocks by the sea.
Gallagher’s Leaf-toed Gecko	Gallagher’s Gecko	Asaccus gallagheri	Mountains	Rocky wadis and Hajar mountain slopes or boulders.
Gardner’s Leaf-toed Gecko	Gardner’s Gecko	Asaccus gardneri	Mountains	Northern Hajar rocky wadis, cliffs and boulders; agile rock climber.
Margarita’s Leaf-toed Gecko	Margarita’s Gecko	Asaccus margaritae	Mountains	Western Hajar / Musandam rocky areas with boulders; local and conservation-sensitive.
Orlov’s Fan-footed Gecko	Orlov’s Gecko	Ptyodactylus orlovi	Mountains	Hajar cliffs, large boulders and rocky mountain faces; often hunting around night-flying insects.
Ru’us al Jibal Fan-footed Gecko	Ruusaljibal Fan-footed Gecko	Ptyodactylus ruusaljibalicus	Mountains	Carbonate mountains of Ru’us al Jibal / Musandam; cliffs and boulders.
Carter’s Semaphore Gecko	Carter’s Rock Gecko	Pristurus carteri	Desert	Coastal or lowland rocky/sandy habitats; rare and very local in the UAE.
Bar-tailed Semaphore Gecko	Bar-tailed Rock Gecko	Pristurus celerrimus	Mountains	Rocky mountain habitats and wadis; diurnal semaphore gecko.
Least Semaphore Gecko	Least Rock Gecko	Pristurus minimus	Desert	Lowland sandy or gravelly desert habitats; tiny diurnal ground gecko.
Rock Semaphore Gecko (UAE lineage)	Pristurus rupestris sp. 3 / Rock Semaphore Gecko complex	Pristurus rupestris-sp.3	Mountains	Hajar Mountains and surrounding lowland rocky areas; common on rocks and man-made structures.
Keyserling’s Wonder Gecko	Persian Wonder Gecko / Giant Frog-eyed Gecko	Teratoscincus keyserlingii	Desert	Sandy desert and gravel-sand plains in north-eastern UAE; nocturnal and ground-dwelling.

Related Species

Keyserling's Wonder Gecko (Teratoscincus keyserlingii)

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Middle Eastern Short-fingered Gecko (Stenodactylus doriae)

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Gardner’s Leaf-toed Gecko (Asaccus gardneri)

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Orlov’s Fan-footed Gecko (Ptyodactylus orlovi)

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NOT EVALUATED
DATA DEFICIENT
LEAST CONCERN
NEAR THREATENED
VULNERABLE
ENDANGERED
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
EXTINCT IN THE WILD
EXTINCT

United Arab Emirates Complete Geckos List

Keyserling's Wonder Gecko (Teratoscincus keyserlingii)

Middle Eastern Short-fingered Gecko (Stenodactylus doriae)

Gardner’s Leaf-toed Gecko (Asaccus gardneri)

Orlov’s Fan-footed Gecko (Ptyodactylus orlovi)