SEAVR 2023: 010‐012
ISSN: 2424‐8525
Date of publication: 18 March 2023
Hosted online by ecologyasia.com

Aberration on the tail bifurcation of Hemidactylus platyurus(Schneider, 1797) in Magpet, North Cotabato, Philippines
Andrie Bon A. FLORES & Gerrie Mae A. FLORES
andriebon.flores@g.msuiit.edu.ph (Flores, A), gerriemae.flores@g.msuiit.edu.ph (Flores, G)

Observers: Andrie Bon A. Flores, Gerrie Mae A. Flores.
Photograph by: Andrie Bon A. Flores.
Subject identified by: Andrie Bon A. Flores.
Location: Barangay Alibayon, Magpet, North Cotabato, Philippines.
Elevation: 228 metres ASL.
Habitat: Residential home.
Date and time: 19 February 2023, 15:25 hrs.
Identity of subject:
Flat‐tailed House Gecko, Hemidactylus platyurus (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae).
Description of record:
During a house visit we observed and documented a Flat‐tailed House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus) which
exhibited an unusual morphological structure, namely a bifurcated, forked tail (Fig. 1). The gecko was found on theceiling of a residential house, but there were no other individuals found in the house that exhibited thischaracteristic.

Figure 1. Hemidactylus platyurus on the ceiling of a residential home in Magpet.

10© Andrie Bon A. Flores

Remarks:
The identified species is a Flat‐tailed House Gecko, Hemidactylus platyurus, because it exhibits a grey dorsum withdarker colouration and marbling, and has a black streak from shoulder to its eye. (Annandale 1907). In addition, it
has a depressed, flat tail with little fringes on each side. Hemidactylus platyurus is morphologically distinct fromother species because of its cutaneous enlargement from the axilla to the groin, and another bordering theposterior portion of the hind leg on the upper surfaces (Purkayastha 2018). This species is widespread across thePhilippines and is commonly found in villages and human habitation (Gojo Cruz 2016; Venturina et al. 2020).
Tail bifurcation in geckoes is not unusual (Gandhla and Srinivasalu 2015) but is a rather well‐known aberration insquamates, which is strongly linked to abnormalities in the caudal autotomy process (Alibardi 2010), a mechanismthat is frequently used by lizards to defend themselves against predators (Meyer et al. 2002). This feature may be
the result of prior wounds (Lynn, 1950) or mechanical damage preventing the tail from being completely lost(Arnold, 1994), permitting the creation of a second tail during the regeneration of the damaged area (e.g. Gogliathet al., 2012). Observations of bifid or bifurcated tails have been documented in other geckos (Kumbar et al. 2011;
Gandhla and Srinivasalu, 2015; Koleska, 2018). Apart from this, numerous studies have also discussed tail‐bifurcation in other species of lizard (De Andrade et al. 2015; Gogoi et al. 2018; Maria and Al‐Razi 2018; Sy andDalabajan, 2018; Bhattarai et al. 2020; Khandakar and Sultana 2020).
Hemidactylus platyurus is one of the most common of house geckos that is widespread across the country, typicallyresiding in manmade structures and even inside rural homes (Venturina et al. 2020). However, sightings of a two‐tailed or bifurcated‐tailed Hemidactylus platyurus have not yet been documented in the country. As a result, to thebest of the authors' knowledge, this is the first instance of this species' tail bifurcation from the Philippines.
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