- Who
- Jaragua dwarf gecko, Sphaerodactylus ariasae, Virgin Islands dwarf gecko, Sphaerodactylus parthenopion
- What
- 16–18 millimetre(s)
- Where
- Not Applicable ()
The smallest extant geckos are the dwarf geckos belonging to the genus Sphaerodactylus. Two in particular – the Jaragua dwarf gecko (S. ariasae) from the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands dwarf gecko (S. parthenopion) of the British Virgin Islands – stand out for their diminutive dimensions, with adult examples of both recorded at 16–18 millimetres (0.62–0.7 inches) from snout to vent and a total length of 33 millimetres (1.2 inches).
This puts these geckoes among the world’s smallest reptiles overall, only surpassed by certain species of Madagascan leaf chameleons (genus Brookesia), which can reach as small as 14 mm (0.55 in).
The largest extant species of gecko is the New Caledonian giant gecko (Rhacodactylus leachianus), aka Leach’s giant gecko, which can attain snout-to-vent lengths of 30 centimetres (12 inches), or around 36 centimetres (14 inches) when including its stumpy tail.
The largest gecko ever, meanwhile, is the extinct Delcourt’s giant gecko (Hoplodactylus delcourti) of New Zealand, known from only a single mounted taxidermy specimen, measuring a total length (including the tail) of 61 cm (2 ft). It was only identified in a museum collection in 1979.
