DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.28369607.v1
title: Phenology of the Mediterranean Gekkota <i>Euleptes europaea</i>

description: The dataset provided counts 3 .csv files:1) <i>Euleptes europaea </i>localities: list the Mediterranean islets populations studied, with regions, names, geographic coordinates, precises date, day/month2) <i>Euleptes </i><i>europaea </i><i> </i>gravidity: occurrence of gravid females, with régions, names of the populations, day/month, total number of Euleptes europaea captured, N females, N gravid females, % gravid females3) <i>Euleptes </i><i>europaea </i><i> </i>hatchlings: occurrence of youngsters, with régions, names of the populations, day/month, total number of Euleptes europaea captured, N juveniles &lt; 22 mm Snout to vent lenght, N juveniles, N subadults, % hatchlings<br><br>In this study we use a 40-years dataset based on the study of a number of populations across the species range . Between 1982 and 2024, a total of 39 populations were studied in 85 sampling sessions (repeated sessions of some populations). Most of the populations studied are Mediterranean landbridge islets, with the exception of two from the continental island of Corsica (Scandula and Falaises de Bonifacio) and one from the "large" island of Port-Cros in Provence. Observations were carried out from early April to mid-October. Sampling sessions lasted from 1 to 6 nights per population. Active geckos were searched for using battery-powered lamps, starting one or two hours after dusk and continuing until dawn if necessary. Geckos were carefully caught by hand and temporarily stored in bags; sex was determined according to Delaugerre and Dubois (1985); snout-vent-length (SVL) was measured to the nearest 0.01 mm using a digital calliper, and weight (data not used in this note) was recorded to the nearest 0.01 g using a digital scale. Females were checked for gravidity by visual examination of the belly, the eggs -even smaller than 2 mm- being visible through the thin skin. After examination, geckos were later released in the area of the original sighting. Gravidity was examined in 36 populations (68 sessions); censuses without females and those without examination of females for eggs were discarded. N = 2450 geckos, of which 729 adult females, of which 262 with visible eggs . Limitation: It is possible that, just after the first egg-laying, very small eggs in formation may have gone unnoticed by some females. The presence of newborn juveniles with a SVL &lt; 22 mm, i.e. aged less than 4-6 weeks (Delaugerre, 1981), was recorded together with the number of juveniles and subadults. N = 2276 geckos; 318 subadults, 487 juveniles of which 127 &lt; 22 mm SVL. Populations without juvenile observations were discarded (Table S2). Limitation: at hatching, the newborns measure ≈ 17 mm SVL (weight ≈ 0.25 g). They grow rapidly in the first month (+ 4.5 mm) (Delaugerre, 1981; 2003). For this reason, we set the threshold at &gt; 22 mm SVL, below which the young were considered to be only a few weeks old. As stature is highly variable from one microinsular population to another (Delaugerre, 1992; Delaugerre et al., 2019; Delaugerre and Corti, 2020), with tendencies towards gigantism and - rarely - dwarfism, we believe that these variations have little effect on these early stages of growth, as hatching size appears to be invariable between populations (M. Delaugerre pers. obs.). This statement might not be true for the dwarf population of Gargalu island.<br><br>