Wahlberg’s velvet gecko is 1 of 950 species in the Gekkonidae family. As the name suggests, the skin of a velvet gecko has the appearance and texture of velvet and is typically grey to greyish brown in color. Considered a large gecko, adults grow to 21 centimeters in length. There is little dimorphism between the sexes. The velvet gecko is nocturnal and survives on a diet of beetles, butterflies, and millipedes.
The blue-tailed skink is a medium-sized lizard growing to a length of 20 centimeters. Body color variation depends on sex and age, but usually ranges from olive to dark brown and features a prominent blue tail. Breeding occurs during the summer and results in females depositing a clutch of 6 to 10 eggs which hatch after 60 days.
Western sandveld lizards are native to the west coast of Southern Africa and can be found as far inland as Botswana. It has a slender body measuring 25 centimeters with a whip tail taking up two-thirds of the animal’s length. The long tail serves as a balance rudder when the elusive lizard is making a speedy escape from potential danger. The sandveld lizard is active in early morning and late afternoon hours as it forages for scorpions, grasshoppers, spiders, termites, and beetles.
The lizards depicted are Wahlberg’s velvet gecko, Homopholis wahlbergii, the blue-tailed skink, Trachylepis quinquetaeniata, and the western sandveld lizard, Nucras tessellata.
