NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Barbados Leaf-toed Gecko
Phyllodactylus pulcher Gray, 1828
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 Barbados leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus pulcher) is a species of gecko endemic to the Caribbean island-nation of Barbados. It is the only known leaf-toed gecko in the Lesser Antilles.
It has a maximum snout-to-vent length of 62 mm. It has a cream ground color, with a dark line extending from its nostril, through its eye, to its shoulder. Its dorsal surface has variable markings: either brown mottling, broad brown crossbands, or longitudinal brown lines.
Little is known about the species' habits and distribution. It is presumed nocturnal, arboreal, and insectivorous. It is considered rare, with few known localities, but its range has not yet been systematically studied.
This once presumed extinct species was rediscovered in 2011 on the outcrop known as Culpepper Island by Damon Gerard Corrie, the founder and first president of the Barbados Herpetological Society.
Wikipedia contributors, Barbados leaf-toed gecko; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:49:19.413570+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phyllodactylus pulcher Gray, 1828
- Name authority
- Gray, 1828
- Common name
- Barbados Leaf-toed Gecko
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Phyllodactylidae
- Genus
- Phyllodactylus
- 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
- familyPhyllodactylidae
- genusPhyllodactylus
- speciesPhyllodactylus pulcher Gray, 1828
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Phyllodactylus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Barrington Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus barringtonensis Van Denburgh, 1912 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peru Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus inaequalis Cope, 1875 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Belize Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus insularis Dixon, 1960 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phyllodactylus leoni Torres-Carvajal, Carvajal-Campos Barnes, Nicholls & Pozo-Andrade, 2013 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus lepidopygus (Tschudi, 1845) | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dutch Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus martini Lidth de Jeude, 1887 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus microphyllus Cope, 1875 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oaxacan Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus muralis Taylor, 1940 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Honduran Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus palmeus Dixon, 1968 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phyllodactylus papenfussi Murphy, Blair & de la Cruz, 2009 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| ParditaNorte Leaf-toed GeckoPhyllodactylus partidus Dixon, 1966 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phyllodactylus pumilus Dixon & Huey, 1970 | PhyllodactylidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Phyllodactylus spatulatus Cope, 1863 Cope, 1863 | 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=Phyllodactylus&species=pulcher 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:4H6CZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.