Galapagos reptilian life - lizards, geckos, snakes

Lava Lizard
(Tropidurussp) is well distributed in the Galapagos island wildlife. In most species you can tell the females from the red to orange necks. Their coloration varies from dull to bright red, often reflective of their immediate physical environment. There are seven endemic species, and some are even endemic from island to island.  Found on all islands except the northernmost ones Genovesa, Darwin and Wolf

Don't be surprised to find incredible differences when you see the lizards of Española, and then the ones of Floreana. Some males can be as long as a foot!

Leaf-toed gecko
(Phyllodactylus) in the islands, rarely seen due to their nocturnal behavior and preference for dark places beneath rocks or fallen trees. They may be noticed at night in Puerto Ayora, however, climbing the walls of hotel rooms or squeaking rhythmically. Their diet consists entirely of insects, which their large eyes allow them to see, their quick speed to catch.

Galapagos snakes
Three species of snakes (Philodryas biserialis, Alsophis slevini and A. dorsalis) occur in the Galapagos Islands, all endemic. They are quite similar looking, about two to three feet long, brown with yellowish longitudinal stripes.

The snakes have arrived on the islands via at least two colonization events. The Alsophis species appear related to A. elegans in Peru and southern Ecuador whereas Philodryas biserialis has a Chilean relative, P. chamissonis.

Galapagos snakes can be slightly poisonous to humans, and may use venom to kill its prey. They first catch the prey with their mouths and mainly kill by constriction: wrapping around the victim and squeezing so it cannot breathe. They hunt for small reptiles and mammals. Prey includes lava lizards, grasshoppers, geckos and marine iguana hatchlings. They also feed on finch nestlings.

Although common and widespread, the snakes are not often seen as they are rather shy. Most islands have one or two of the species. A couple of northern islands have no snakes, presumably because they did not succeed in establishing viable populations or never reached there in the first place.