In captivity animals alternated between the sit-and-wait and the slow-active searching foraging modes'. Very docile. When approached animals wave their tails rapidly but do not readily attempt to escape. During normal gait the animals wave their tails in a slow serpentine movement, not only sidewise, but also sometimes curling it vertically above the back.
No call heard for certain. Tropiocolotes calls heard at the type locality could have belonged to this species or to T. steudneri. In captivity only intraspecific aggression and distress vocalizations (when handled) were audible, both consisting of faint squeaks.
Least Concern
A small gecko with a maximum recorded SVL of 31 mm. Body covered with keeled imbricate scales. Differs from all Tropiocolotes with keeled dorsals by the following characters: small, smooth and juxtaposed scales covering all parts of the head (more than 14 interorbitals and more than 34 gulars); proportionately short thick tail (tail/SVL ratio less than 1.04); long limbs and relatively large head. Two pairs of postmental shields, the first much larger than second, which are almost the same size as the gulars. Dorsum sandy gray, with 6 ill-defined brownish transverse bands across the back, each followed by several lighter yellowish spots. Dorsal side of limbs of similar color with a few scattered faint darker marks. Iris bicolored; the upper third is golden brown, the lower two-thirds dark brown, roughly coinciding with a dark brown line that extends from the rostral to well beyond the shoulder. Tail orange-yellow with 9-10 transverse crossbars, the one at the base of the tail being the darkest and broadest. Bars are restricted to the dorsal half of the tail. All ventral sides are white except for the tail, which is orange-yellow.
Southeast Egypt, where it is known from a few localities: Wadi El Rada, Bir Abraq, Bir Baneit and Gebel Elba.
Known only from southeast Egypt, but the range of the species is likely to extend further north in the Egyptian Eastern Desert along the mountains overlooking the Red Sea. Environmental and ecological conditions similar to those at the type locality are found as far north as 27°N. A specimen found at Bir Abraq indicates that the species is not confined to coastal deserts. The species certainly extends into Sudan and probably further south along the Red Sea.
All material comes from arid to semi-arid mountainous country at elevations between 200-400 m. At the type-locality animals were found on and among rocks at the base of a barren hill flanking a wadi with scant vegetation cover of mainly Acacia raddiana and Zilla spinosa. The animal from Gebel Elba was found on stones among large boulders, well above the wadi bed. Vegetation cover was relatively dense, locally dominated by Euphorbia consobrina and Acacia sp..
All animals collected were encountered while active at night. One was found lying on top of a large rock. The other two were encountered walking very slowly on fully extended limbs.
Uncommon and localized.
The Parker's pigmy gecko (Tropiocolotes somalicus) is a species of gecko of the genus Tropiocolotes. It is found in Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.[1]
The Parker's pigmy gecko (Tropiocolotes somalicus) is a species of gecko of the genus Tropiocolotes. It is found in Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
