NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rodrigues' Day Gecko
Phelsuma gigas Liénard, 1842
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Rodrigues giant day gecko (Phelsuma gigas) is an extinct species of day gecko. It lived on the island of Rodrigues and surrounding islands and typically dwelt on trees. The Rodrigues giant day gecko fed on insects and nectar, and, unlike most other day geckos, was apparently nocturnal in habit.
Wikipedia contributors, Rodrigues giant day gecko; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:57:53.309627+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phelsuma gigas Liénard, 1842
- Name authority
- Liénard, 1842
- Common name
- Rodrigues' Day Gecko
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Gekkonidae
- Genus
- Phelsuma
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderGekkota
- familyGekkonidae
- genusPhelsuma
- speciesPhelsuma gigas Liénard, 1842
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Phelsuma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Phelsuma berghofi Krüger, 1996 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow-throated Day GeckoPhelsuma flavigularis Mertens, 1962 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Parker's Day GeckoPhelsuma parkeri Loveridge, 1941 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phelsuma parva Meier, 1983 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indian Day GeckoPhelsuma pasteuri Meier, 1984 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phelsuma pronki Seipp, 1994 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phelsuma pusilla Mertens, 1964 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Striped Day GeckoPhelsuma lineata Gray, 1842 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Madagascar Day GeckoPhelsuma madagascariensis Gray, 1831 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Island Day GeckoPhelsuma nigristriata Meier, 1984 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Madagascar Day GeckoPhelsuma kochi Mertens, 1954 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phelsuma masohoala Raxworthy & Nussbaum, 1994 | GekkonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gecko newtoni Günther, 1877 Günther, 1877 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Phelsuma&species=gigas Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4FZTX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.