The ‘Eua Forest gecko is an island endemic in Tonga and, despite extensive surveys on other islands, no additional populations of this species have been found.
The island has a total area of just 87 km2, and therefore this is the maximum possible range of the ‘Eua forest gecko, though its actual area of occupancy may be significantly smaller.
This Critically Endangered gecko is under threat from habitat loss due to land conversion for agriculture and subsistence farming. The introduction of non-native skinks has also led to increased competition for food and space, which is likely to have negatively impacted this species.
It is essential to maintain the forest habitat of this gecko and further research into the impact of the introduced skinks is required.
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Population: Common
Trend:stable
EDGE Score
EDGE Score: 5.75 (?)
ED Score: 18.701 (?)
GE / IUCN Red List(?)
NENot EvaluatedDDData DeficientLCLeast ConcernNTNear ThreatenedVUVulnerableENEndangeredCRCritically EndangeredEWExtinct in the WildEXExtinct
Distribution
The species is found on ‘Eua Island, Tonga. It has been recorded from between 100 and 300 metres above sea level.
Habitat and Ecology
This species is known only from forests, where it can be found under the bark of dead trees.
The EDGE score is used to prioritise EDGE species for conservation attention. Within a group of species, higher values mean that the species is a higher priority. The score is calculated by combining the ED and GE scores given below. The black line on the EDGE bar shows the mean EDGE score for all species in this taxonomic group, so you can see how high this species’ EDGE score is compared to the rest of the group.
ED is the Evolutionary Distinctiveness of this species, measured in millions of years. This number represents the unique evolutionary history surviving in this species. The black line on the ED bar shows the median ED score for all species in this taxonomic group, so you can see how high this species’ ED score is within compared to the rest of the group.
The Global Endangerment (GE) or IUCN Red List category, describes how close this species is to becoming extinct. Species that are Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered are considered to be at significant risk of extinction.