SEAVR 2022: 009‐011
ISSN: 2424‐8525
Date of publication: 20 July 2022
Hosted online by ecologyasia.com

Predation by Tokay gecko on the introduced American Cockroachon Mindanao Island, Philippines
Elsa May DELIMA‐BARON1, Marian Dara T. TAGOON2 & Von Carlo P. DELA TORRE3
elsa.delima.baron@gmail.com
1

Research Coordination Center, San Pedro College, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.
Department of Biology, Davao Medical School Foundation Inc., Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.
3
Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines.
2Observers: Elsa May Delima‐Baron, Marian Dara T. Tagoon, Von Carlo P. Dela Torre.
Photograph by: Von Carlo P. Dela Torre.
Subject identified by: Elsa May Delima‐Baron.
Location: Davao City, Davao del Sur Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines (7.0858°N, 125.6083°E).
Habitat: Urban: grassy patch adjacent to a road.
Date and time: 02 October 2021, 20:17 hrs.
Identity of subject: Tokay gecko, Gekko gecko (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae).
Description of record: During a herpetofaunal survey we observed a predation event on an American Cockroachby a Tokay gecko in a grassy patch adjacent to a road. The prey was in a dorsal position and already seized on its
thorax by the Tokay while clinging onto a blade of grass (Figure 1). Actual consumption of the prey was not visible
to the observers since the gecko moved away from its original spot three minutes after initial observation. Basedon how the prey was seized, the gecko is assumed to have been close to the prey item when it was spotted.

Fig. 1.

© Von Carlo P. Dela Torre9Remarks: The genus Gekko has a widespread distribution in Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Philippines with 81
recognized species (Uetz et al. 2021). In the Philippines, this genus currently comprises 16 species, of which, thefollowing 13 species are endemic: G. athymus, G. carusadensis, G. coi, G. crombota, G. ernstkelleri, G. gigante, G.
gulat, G. intermedius, G. mindorensis, G. palawensis, G. porosus, G. romblon, and G. rossi (Brown et al. 2011; Sileret al. 2012). Philippine Gekko species have been observed in different habitats including caves (Brown and Alcala
2000; Rosler et al. 2006), and disturbed and secondary growth forests (Linkem et al., 2010; Siler et al. 2012).
Additionally, they are commonly found in crevices in parks, artificial structures in and around human habitation,
large rocks in rivers, and on concrete structures close to aquatic habitats (Linkem et al., 2010; Brown et. al. 2013).
The diverse habitats of Gekko species may facilitate their adaptive differentiation regarding food acquisition anddietary preferences (Kim et al. 2019a). Several studies have documented the diet of Gekko species. Weterings andWeterings (2018) reported G. monarchus feeding on white bread whereas another paper reported opportunistic
feeding on insects attracted to artificial light (McKelvy and Ozelski‐McKelvy 2012; Kim et al. 2019b; Kobayashi andMori 2020). Termites, wasps, true flies, spiders, and sawflies also formed part of Gekko's diet (Affandi and Zulkipli2013).
Tokay gecko, Gekko gecko (Linnaeus 1758), are widely distributed in Southeast Asia, eastern and northeastern
India, southern China, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It was introduced in the United States of America (i.e., Florida &Hawaii), Madagascar, and West Indies (Das 2010) unintentionally as stowaways in cargo ships and intentionally forthe pet trade and pest control (Wilson and Porras 1983; Kraus 2009). Gekko gecko inhabits buildings, home gardens,and sites near human‐dominated habitats (Wilson and Porras 1983; Aowphol et al. 2006; Brown et. al. 2013; Behmet al. 2018; Yashmita‐Ulman and Singh 2021).
Gekko gecko is a generalist feeder reported to prey on a wide variety of vertebrates, and invertebrates (Meshakaet al. 1997; Love 2000; Aowphol et al. 2006; Bucol and Alcala 2013; Krysko and Love 2016) and even on bread(Weterings and Weterings 2019). The actual predation of G. gecko on vertebrates such as juvenile easterncornsnake, Pantherophis guttatus (Love 2000); the agamid Calotes versicolor (Aowphol et al. 2006); Cuban tree
frog, Osteopilus septentrionalis, and Carolina wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus (Krysko and Love 2016); juvenile
house rat, Rattus tanezumi (Bucol and Alcala 2013) and attempted predation of olive‐backed sunbird, Cinnyris
jugularis (Sy and Tanalgo 2018) are known. Moreover, diet composition through gut content analysis revealed prey
items such as beetles, moths, mantids, spiders, caterpillars, and roaches (Meshaka et al. 1997; Aowphol et al. 2006;
Singh and Choudhury 2016). Aside from vertebrates and invertebrates, they may feed opportunistically on bread,cookies, and crackers (Weterings and Weterings 2019). This gecko can be a sit‐and‐wait or active forager,depending on the availability of prey items. When prey is scarce, it tends to sit‐and‐wait but becomes an active
feeder if prey items are highly abundant (Aowphol et al. 2006). Our observation may not directly support thisgecko's sit and wait foraging nature as previously reported by Aowphol et al. (2006) but it highlights close proximity
as a factor for successful predation.
As a generalist feeder, Gekko gecko consumes several species of arthropods, including cockroaches (Meshaka etal.,1997; Stanner et al. 1998; Singh and Choudhury 2016). Feeding observations of G. gecko were mainly in walls of
infrastructures and on tree trunks or branches (Aowphol et al. 2006; Singh and Choudhury 2016). However, noneof these reports accounted for actual predation of this gecko on cockroaches in a grassy patch adjacent to a road.
This feeding event occurring in a disturbed area is not novel given the capacity of the gecko to dwell in various
habitats with different levels of disturbance (Aowphol et al. 2006; Bucol and Alcala 2013; Singh and Choudhury
2016; Behm et al. 2018; Yashmita‐Ulman & Singh 2021). Our observation provides the first report of a non‐wall
insect predation event (i.e. in a grassy patch adjacent to a road) by the Tokay Gecko on a cockroach in thePhilippines.
Acknowledgments: We thank CARIM‐UP Mindanao for the funding support for this research, the Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources XI for the Wildlife Gratuitous Permit, and San Pedro College for theadministrative support to E.M. Baron.
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