Predation on a White-throated Clawed Gecko (Gonatodes albogularis fuscus) by the Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) in Cuba

Abstract

Substantial biodiversity declines, alterations in ecosystem functioning, and high monetary expenditures associated with the management, are among the main negative effects of biological invasions (Diagne et al. 2021). Invasive alien species, i.e. species that have successfully been introduced, established and spread beyond their native range, are expected to increase in number and impact worldwide as a result of international trade and climate change (Fournier et al. 2019; Diagne et al. 2021). Invasive species is the fourth most prevalent threat for world´s reptiles (Cox et al. 2022). Of the 21 reptiles that were brought to Cuba in the last several centuries, nine species have successfully colonized and are now considered invasive (Borroto-Páez et al. 2015), with three of them being house geckos of the genus Hemidactylus. The Tropical House Gecko (H. mabouia) is native to central Africa (Henderson and Powell 2009) and currently can be found in several areas around Cuba with populations appearing to increase rapidly (Díaz 2014), especially in urban areas. These large geckos (adult snout-vent length [SVL] = 61–75 mm) are mainly associated with human habitations, where they hide in cracks and other refuges. They feed mainly on insects, but other arthropods and even small vertebrates can be taken (Albuquerque et al. 2013; Lamb et al. 2021). The White-throated Clawed Gecko, Gonatodes albogularis fuscus is another lizard considered as an invasive species in Cuba by some authors (Borroto-Páez et al. 2015) and possibly native by others (Chaves et al. 2022). This species can be found in several sites around the Cuban archipelago living as a human commensal in houses, gardens, parks, and plantations (Díaz 2008). This diurnal gecko can reach 40 mm SVL (Schwartz and Henderson 1991) and the only known predator in Cuba is the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus; Bello 2000). Although the first introduced reptiles probably arrived to Cuba in the early 16th Century with the beginning of the slave trade (Borroto-Páez et al. 2015), little information has been published about the interactions among invasive reptile species and about the relations with the Cuban native reptiles (e.g. Armas and Iturriaga 2017; Borroto-Páez and Reyes 2019). In this note, we document interactions between two invasive lizard species and comment about possible negative effects of Hemidactylus mabouia on sympatric geckos living in human habitations. On 2 August 2020 at 1201 h, we found an adult individual Hemidactylus mabouia (about 75 mm SVL) swallowing an adult male Gonatodes albogularis fuscus (about 20 mm SVL). The observation was in a house´s courtyard in the residential neighborhood named Los Olmos in Santiago de Cuba city, Cuba. The predation event occurred on a wall, ca. 178 cm above the ground, the predator had captured the prey head-first and only the rear legs and tail were hanging from its mouth (Fig. 1).