What was really the most puzzling about finding Tropiocolotes and Sauro.
was when I found them under stones not much larger than a small book. The
surrounding area would be shimmering from heat mirages, and these tiny
geckos could suck it up and endure the heat throughout the day. The
ability for these animals to regulate their temps., and the tolerance of
abnormally high temps was perhaps one of the most phenomenal things I
witnessed in the Sahara. The largest colony of Saurodactylus I unearthed,
consisted of no less than 100 specimens!!! I remember poor Stacy, sleepy
and exhausted from a full day of travel and hiking, trying to stock up on
sleep early on one evening. The sun had just began to set. We were
staying in a little bungalow, with a private view of the ocean, for
$7USD/night. I could lob a ball into the ocean from the window shutters of
our room. Anyway, I found a trench, perhaps 18" deep and 6" wide that
extended for nearly 200 yards. To prevent mishap, the construction people
had filled in the trench with irregular sized rocks. Upon digging in them,
Saurodactylus would surface, here and there, with their tails waving at
full mast and only to disappear again. I gathered something to throw a few
in and before I knew it there was perhaps 40 specimens, all tail-curling
deliberately, and I ran back to the room to show Stacy. This was
sufficient to get a rise out of her, and she accompanied me for the second
phase. This time we worked together and the numbers increased so
staggeringly that we finally just gave up.
Tropiocolotes tripolitanus is always associated with hard-packed soils and
cap-rocks. Saurodactylus can also be found in these situations, but they
are not commonly found. Wherever an extensive pile of rocks found, rest
assured it will be riddled with Saurodactylus. The problem is these rock
piles heat up easy, and when you go to digging around in them, the Sauro.'s
quickly become alarmed and zip in and out of the holes and crevices.
Sometimes one must dig like a frenzied canine to keep up with them.
Tropiocolotes when unearthed, just book it across the hard pan for the
next shelter. So, Saurodactylus are more of a gregarious species in
nature, whereas the Tropiocolotes are more solitary creatures. In
captivity, both do well under colony conditions and tolerate juveniles of
any size and sex. What was really confusing (to some degree) with some
populations of Saurodactylus was that there would be an equal number of
Saurodactylus m. mauritanicus and S. m. brossetti in the SAME area. This
made things obviously more interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quedenfeldtia usually lives in association with mountain ranges, immense
boulder piles, and cliffs. In such places, there is no foothold for
Geckonia or Stenodactylus. Look for an upcoming article on Quedenfeldtia.
Any variation in the above, 3 new genera? Yep, another thread, and many
posts.
Jon
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