Jarak Island Bent-toed GeckoCyrtodactylus jarakensis

Conservation Actions

Although the island is not afforded official protection, it serves as a military outpost restricted to non-military personnel. This would protect the species from collecting should it become of commercial interest, but this species is still threatened by the presence of rats. Conservation efforts should be implemented to remove the rats from this island (L. Grismer and E. Quah pers. comm. 2017). There is little information on this species, and the restricted access makes it difficult to conduct further research to evaluate the status of this species (E. Quah pers. comm. 2017).

Location Information

This species is only known from the small, isolated island of Jarak in Perak, Malaysia, at 20 m asl. (Grismer et al. 2008, Grismer 2011). The island has a maximum elevation of 50 m asl. (Grismer 2011). The island has an area of 0.5 km²; as an isolated deep water island 45 km from mainland Peninsular Malaysia the gecko is undoubtedly endemic to this area.

Geographic Range

Extant

Malaysia

Population Information

This species is only known from a single female vouchered specimen (Grismer 2011). It has been described as being "commonly seen at night on both trees and rocks" based on observations made at the time of collection (Grismer 2011, D. Belabut pers. obs.). Although there is no information on its population status, it is expected to occur in low densities because the island is infested with introduced rats which are known to prey on reptiles and their eggs. The population is estimated to consist of fewer than 1,000 mature individuals as a consequence of this pressure and given the small size of the island (L. Grismer and E. Quah pers. comm. 2017).

Threats

The introduction of rats to the island has the potential to heavily impact the population of this lizard (L. Grismer and E. Quah pers. comm. 2017).

IUCN Red List Account Link

Please click here to see the species' IUCN Red List Account page.