Affiliation:
1. Wild Caribbean
2. Wageningen Marine Research
3. Burg Biologica
Abstract
Since 2021, the Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) has been reported from multiple islands in the Lesser Antilles. However, the precise timing of the species’ arrival within the region and on individual islands is difficult to pinpoint as its close similarity to Hemidactylus mabouia likely has caused it to go unnoticed for a long time (Brisbane et al. 2021, Griffing et al. 2022). Recent reports of new distributional records for H. frenatus are for Dominica (Brisbane et al. 2021), St. Martin (Dewynter et al. 2022), St. Lucia (Griffing et al. 2022), St. Kitts (Thorpe 2022), St. Barthélemy (Questel et al. 2023), and St. Eustatius (Thibaudier et al. 2023). Here, we report the first record and establishment of the species on Antigua.
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