Darwin’s Wall Gecko, Perenquén de Santiago (Tarentola darwini)

A medium-sized gecko, with a mean and maximum snout-vent length of 56.2 mm and 64 mm, respectively. The dorsum is whitish-pink with dark silvery-grey blotches. The longitudinal dorsal line typical of other geckos is absent or very narrow and barely perceptible. Colouring varies according to habitat, which is characteristic of the genus Tarentola. This gecko is endemic to the island of Santiago (Cape Verde), where it is common and widely distributed. It mainly shelters under rocks, pieces of wood scattered on the ground and in walls of buildings; it is active only at dusk and at night, when it hunts insects and other invertebrates. Data on the biology and ecology is severely lacking. Most likely it feeds on the Cape Verde barn owl (Tyto alba detorta) and, to a lesser extent, the Cape Verde kestrel (Falco tinnunculus alexandri). It is currently not under any real threat, but was listed as undetermined in the 1990s because of a lack of information on its status at the time.