Identification:
This gecko species is relatively large. It is dark brown in color, with a body length up to 107.5 mm and a head length of 33 to 35 mm. Head width ranges from 21 to 23.3 mm. The head is flattened with a broad snout and large, round, black eyes. The body is relatively slender and elongated, with developed folds on either side of the abdomen. The limbs are relatively long, with long digits. The tail is longer than the snout-vent length. There are large scales on the ventral side of the tail; scales at the base of the tail are arranged in rings, are not expanded, and are not divided. It has 13-14 supralabial scales, 13-15 infralabial scales, and 17-21 narrow subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe. There are 119-145 scale rows around the body. There are no enlarged scales on the thighs. Males are smaller than females and very similar in appearance. This is a typical reptile species that lives in caves, so its body color can change depending on light, habitat, and season.
Biology and Ecology:
This nocturnal reptile species lives in deep rock caves with abundant bedrock at elevations of 100 to 300 meters above sea level. It often appears near cave entrances to hunt during the rainy season and retreats deep into the caves during the dry season. Its diet consists of small insects that live in its habitat. In captivity, it consumes small insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and ants.
Distribution:
The type specimens and comparative samples of this gecko species were collected from Bà Đen Mountain, Tân Châu, Dương Minh Châu, and Tây Ninh town, Tây Ninh province. This new gecko species was recently published in March 2006 by Vietnamese and Russian scientists in the Russian Journal of Herpetology and was named after its distribution area in Bà Đen Mountain, Tây Ninh, Vietnam.