Ecology of the Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Reptilia; Gekkonidae), in North Sinai, Egypt

摘要

Aspects of the ecology of Hemidactylus turcicus were studied on the campus of Suez Canal University at Al-Arish, north Sinai, Egypt, from January 2001 to December 2002. Lizards were very often encountered on fences and building walls and were commonlyobserved in horizontal and vertical positions. Lizards were active from March to November and on warm nights in winter; they started their activity after complete darkness and displayed a unimodal pattern. Their activity differed between the seasons. Lepidoptera were the most important food taken by lizards in terms of volume, frequency of occurrence and the index of relative importance. The highest number of food categories was recorded in spring and the lowest in winter. Food types differed accordingto locality. The reproductive season extended from March to August. The testes of adult males were enlarged from March to July with maximum size and mass during May and minimum during August.