Reptiles of Mauritius
Of the 18 species of reptile that used to be found in Mauritius, only 13 remain, and 7 of these are restricted to offshore islets where they escaped extinction from rats. Moreover, five of these species are restricted to Round Island.Some of the reptiles are as followed:
Telfair’s skink (Leiolopisma telfairii)
A large skink now found only on Round Island. This harmless skink is very inquisitive and eats anything, including its own young.
A large gecko found only on Round Island. This shy gecko spends the day hiding on trunks of vacoas and latanier and is an important pollinator of the palm trees on the island. With sticky pads on its feet it can go anywhere.
A harmless brown snake only found on Round Island. The young are bright orange and easier to spot than the adults which lie camouflaged waiting for their prey of other lizards.
A green gecko decorated with stripes and spots in red and blue. This species is widespread on the offshore islets and coastal areas of Mauritius. There are 3 other closely related species of Phelsuma (P. guimbeaui rosagularis, P. guimbeaui, P. cepediana) in Mauritius each one restricted to a different habitat type. The gecko is an important pollinator of many of the native plants.
A pale and small nocturnal gecko with huge eyes found on Round Island. Closely related species are found on Gunner’s Quoin, Serpent Island and Flat Island.
A tiny, fast moving skink that is found on the coast. This species is wide-spread across the western Indian ocean.
A brown skink found on several of the offshore islets of Mauritius
A shy skink closely related to the Bojer’s skink and only found on Flat Island. It has a dark orange tail and is most easy to spot after the rainApart from the native reptiles, there are some that have been introduced which are as follows:
