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Kōrero: Lizards

Common green geckos

Image
Common green geckos

These newborn common green geckos (Naultinus elegans) hatched and were incubated inside their mother, an adaptation to living in a relatively cool climate – most geckos in other parts of the world lay eggs. Geckos are thought to have been on New Zealand when it broke away from Gondwana, 85 million years ago. DNA research indicates that New Zealand’s 37 gecko species evolved from a common ancestor that lived 25–35 million years ago.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Ryan Photographic

by Paddy Ryan

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Lizards – Appearance and life cycle, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/13516/common-green-geckos (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Kerry-Jayne Wilson, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009, updated 1 March 2014.