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Palawan Sun Skink

    Leaves, twigs, and barks that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter, and it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Most of the tiny animals found in the leaf litter are invertebrates. They are important food source for toads, skinks, and other small amphibians and reptiles that rely on the shelter and moisture provided by the leaf litter. One of the many creatures living in the leaf litter habitats of Palawan is the Palawan Sun Skink ( Eutropis sahulinghangganan ), a newly described species of skink endemic to Palawan. The name Eutropis sahulinghangganan derives from the Tagalog "sa huling" or "sa huli ng" (meaning in the last), and "hangganan" (meaning frontier). Palawan Sun Skink     The Palawan Sun Skink inhabits thick coastal forests, mangroves, as well as secondary forests and primary forests up in the mountains. I have seen this skink near the peak of Mount Beaufort at elevations of around 1000 masl, but the population of thi...

Palawan Gecko

Palawan Gecko Gekko palawanensis photo by Jojo De Peralta

     Palawan Gecko or Palawan Narrow-disked Gecko (Gekko palawanensis) is a medium size gecko endemic to Palawan. Their favored habitats include forested areas with large rock piles or outcroppings,  rocky escarpments or walls, tree hallows, and old hollowed logs on the forest floor. They spend a lot of time outside in the evening, and will only retreat to ground hides during the day.

Palawan Gecko Gekko palawanensis photo by Jojo De Peralta
Palawan Gecko


    It shares the same type of habitat with the Palawan Bent-toed Gecko, but unlike its slightly bigger cousin who prefers ambush hunting, this Gekko is more of a  stalk and pounce hunter. We were lucky to observe them hunting a few times while camping in the mountain at night. It's fun to watch as they slowly stalk moths and other insects attracted to our camp light, then leaping the last several inches to make the snag.

Palawan Gecko Gekko palawanensis photo by Jojo De Peralta
Palawan Gecko


    This species prefers heavily forested habitats to second growths in urban areas. Lowland habitats are degrading in Palawan, and the Palawan Gecko has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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