Cart
Published articles Issue number: Natura Croatica, Vol. 34 No.2

Mediterranean House Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), has established urban populations in Central Europe

Authors: Borna Brezak, Karmela Adžić, Patricia Kokot, Tin Rožman, Iva Čupić, Duje Lisičić, Mladen Kučinić, Srđan Pichler, Josip Skejo

Authors and affiliation

  • Borna Brezak University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Karmela Adžić Labinska 4, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Patricia Kokot Gajeva 9, HR-44320 Repušnica, Croatia
  • Tin Rožman Croatian Natural History Museum, Demetrova ulica 1, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Iva Čupić Croatian Biospeleological Society, Savski kuti, Lomnička 3, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Duje Lisičić University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Mladen Kučinić University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Srđan Pichler Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Radnička cesta 80, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Josip Skejo University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The Mediterranean house gecko inhabits the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia, but has been introduced in Northern America, in the United States and Mexico in 2015 and 2016. The species has been reported in 2014 in Serbia and then again from 2020 to 2022 in the same country. Here, we report more scattered findings from Romania and Central Europe: Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Czechia and Hungary, from 2013 to 2025. In Zagreb, Croatia, the species has a small population established, as continuous records exist from 2013 till today in numerous localities, and with specimens observed throughout the year. On the other hand, records from continental Austria and Romania are known to be recently imported specimens.

Keywords

iNaturalist, citizen science, allochtonous species, spreading, Zagreb, Croatia, Romania, Austria, Slovenia, Czechia, Hungary Brezak, B., Adžić, K., Kokot, P., Rožman, T., Čupić, I., Lisičić, D., Kučinić, M., Pichler, S. & Skejo,

PDF File