Coleonyx brevis emits a squeak in order to signal territory or breeding. During foraging and feeding, C. brevis relies on visual cues, which can be reinforced by chemical cues before an attack occurs. This strategy is imortant because it prevents the attack of harmful organisms and also helps in finding more prey in a short foraging time.
Communication Channels: acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
When the eggs hatch, the young C. brevis look like small adults. Soon after they are born, the young reach sexual maturity.
Coleonyx brevis do not have any significant adverse affect on humans.
Coleonyx brevis positively benifits humans by eating and controlling insect pests such as termites and cicadellids.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Texas banded geckos eat many invertebrates, and are prey to many vertebrates.
Coleonyx brevis is mainly insectivorous and has a very wide variety of prey. It is nocturnal, so has a relatively short foraging time. They begin feeding at sundown and end about 3-4 hours later, when temperatures become too low for foraging. For this reason, C. brevis does not have a very specialized diet. It tends to eat most prey encountered in order to get enough to survive. The main prey of C. brevis is termites and cicadellids, while they also feed on spiders, solpugids, crickets, and moths. The type of prey suggests that this species is an active forager. They search for prey in several microhabitats and also dig or turn items in order to find food.
When foraging, the body is in an elevated position and the tail is raised to the height of the body and is laterally curved. There are also frequent tongue flicks to the substrate and surrounding objects. When prey is detected, either from motion or chemoreception, C. brevis approaches it with a series of short runs. It then arks its head over the prey and strikes downward. After biting the prey, the gecko usually shakes it vigorously 3-4 times.
Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore , Eats non-insect arthropods)
Texas banded geckos are found in Texas and from parts of Southern New Mexico, USA to Northeastern Mexico. In Texas, they are found mainly in the Trans-Pecos region in the southwest and also in western parts of the South Texas thorn scrub.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Coleonyx brevis is found in dry, rocky areas. It inhabits burrows or dens, usually beneath flat rocks or in crevices. When active, C. brevis usually remains on the substrate, rarely climbing on rocks or branches.
Habitat Regions: temperate
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune
Adults on average are 10.16-12.07 cm with a snout-vent length of 53.8 mm (Dial & Fitzpatrick 1981). Coleonyx brevis displays sexual dimorphism: females are larger than males. This gecko has a slender body with a tail of equal length. Its head is large and it has large eyes with vertical pupils and moveable eyelids. The toes are very slender and there are no pads. The dorsal side of C. brevis is covered with granular scales. The ventral side is slightly translucent. They are brownish in color and have alternating cross bands of brown and pale yellow. They can be recognized by the dark and light colored blotches and spots on their bodies, which become more prevalent with age (University of Texas 1998).
Range mass: 1.9 to 3.3 g.
Average mass: 2.60 g.
Range length: 10.1 to 12.1 cm.
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Coleonyx brevis is preyed upon by many mammal and bird species, and also by many species of snakes that focus primarily on lizards, such as Hypsiglena torquata, Salvadora deserticola, and Masticophis flagellum.
Known Predators:
Texas banded geckos are oviparous, their reproductive season is from March-April. Average clutch size is two eggs, and approximately 2-3 clutches are produced each breeding season.
Fertilization is internal. Follicles appear as yellow masses in the oviducts, which change to white at ovulation. Yolk is deposited for 30-32 days after the initiation of vitellogenisis (the formation of the yolk of an egg). About ten days after the yolk is deposited, oviposition takes place. The female C. brevis lays her eggs in an underground burrow or den.
The eggs hatch about two months after being layed, and at this point the young C. brevis are similar in appearance to the adult C. brevis, only smaller in size. Soon after they are born, the young reach sexual maturity.
Breeding season: March-April
Average gestation period: 42 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; sexual ; oviparous
Yolk is deposited for 30-32 days after the initiation of vitellogenisis (the formation of the yolk of an egg). About ten days after the yolk is deposited, oviposition takes place. The female C. brevis lays her eggs in an underground burrow or den.
During vitellogenisis, the female uses energy stored as lipids in carcass, fat body (corpora adiposa), and tail tissue. The utilization of lipid reserves allows the maximization of offspring size and quality by increasing mass and energy content of hatchlings. By the time oviposition takes place, all lipid reserves are depleted.
Parental Investment: pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female)
The Texas banded gecko (Coleonyx brevis) is a species of small gecko native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Texas banded geckos are small, terrestrial lizards, rarely exceeding 4 in (10 cm) in length. They have alternating bands of yellow and brown or pink colored banding down their body, generally with black accenting on the bands, and sometimes with varying degrees of black speckling. Hatchlings and juveniles display a banded pattern; the banded pattern gets a more mottled appearance as the gecko becomes an adult.
It is found in western Texas and in southeastern New Mexico in the United States, and in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Durango in Mexico. They prefer semi-arid habitats, and are often found around rock piles or canyon crevices.
Primarily nocturnal and carnivorous, they will consume almost any kind of small arthropods. They are capable of vocalizing, and sometimes emit squeaking noises, most often when harassed or handled. Reproduction occurs in the late spring, and they lay one or two eggs, which are surprisingly large compared to the size of the gecko.
Texas banded geckos are not frequently found in captivity, but due to their small size and docile nature, they can make good captives. They do not hold any particular conservation status.
The Texas banded gecko (Coleonyx brevis) is a species of small gecko native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
