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Story: Lizards

Common green geckos

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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.

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Ryan Photographic

by Paddy Ryan

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How to cite this page

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

Story by Kerry-Jayne Wilson, published 1 March 2009, updated 1 March 2014.