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Cellpic Sunday – The Smallest Lizard?

Is this South Africa’s smallest lizard?

October 2024

Kruger National Park, South Africa.

It was early morning, and we were having coffee before heading out for our game drive. I spotted a small lizard on the back of one of the chairs on the patio outside our community room. Because of its diminutive size, I assumed the lizard was juvenile. Research with Google as a reference (I know, not always reliable) provided a hint that this lizard species is one of the smallest lizards in the world, certainly in South Africa.

This lizard’s body (minus tail) is about the width of an adult man’s fingernail (about 0.4 inches or 1 cm). Google made the following points in identifying the species:

Size: Dwarf Geckos are among the smallest geckos in South Africa, with adults reaching a maximum snout-to-vent length (body length excluding the tail) of around 3.5 cm. A body size comparable to a fingernail fits well within their size range.
    Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko: While common in Kruger, they are significantly larger, with adults reaching 8-10 cm in body length.
    Ocellated Thick-toed Gecko: These are even larger, exceeding 10 cm in body length.

Other characteristics that support the Dwarf Gecko ID:

    Coloration: Dwarf Geckos often exhibit a mottled or speckled pattern, which matches the appearance in the photo.
    Habitat: They are commonly found on trees and rocks, which aligns with the lizard’s location on a rough surface in the photo.

Of course, I deferred to my friend, Dries, for a positive identification. Dries replied to my email: “This most certainly is a very newly hatched Common Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus capensis) – fully grown they’re about a finger long.” Dries graciously provided a link to his blog post featuring images of dwarf geckos. He shared several pictures of adult geckos that you can use to compare. His link is here.

About the photo: When I spotted this little guy bathed in the early morning sunlight, I didn’t have my “real cameras” with me, so I captured the image with my Samsung S23U. Processing was a bit more complicated than usual, but only because the gecko was high on the chair back and there were distracting elements behind the chair. After basic processing in Adobe Lightroom Classic to crop the photo to eliminate the distraction, I exported the image to Adobe Photoshop. Using Generative Expand, I created an extended background above the lizard, bringing the subject closer to the center of the frame. Click on the image to view it in 2K HD on my Flickr site.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s also acceptable. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

46 comments

  14. I love finding rare and neat animals. It brings out the magic in the world we’ve often forgotten in adulthood. That’s a tiny lizard !! I enjoy learning anything like this with animals. Thanks for sharing 😊🙏🏻

    Reply

  21. Love this little guy, John. Did it remind you of Arizona – just a bit? My post is coming today. You are going to be so proud of me! (And I did nothing!)

    Reply

  22. […] I’m taking a survey to gauge interest in a new Woodlake history book documenting what’s been happening since the last book. Photos by Johnbo, John Steiner, will be thrilled to know that I took a daylight picture, and using AI, turned the day sky into night and added fireworks. I thought it came out beautifully. This was done in Canva. You can see the world’s smallest lizard on his Cell Pic Sunday post. […]

    Reply

  24. Lizards normally come in search of food. Make sure there is no food leftover or spills. Seal the entry points. Maybe a small pest control work will also help.

    Reply

    • This little guy was out on the patio of our shared rental. No doubt, other guests had “leftovers” on the tables. I’m sure he was hoping to find an easy meal.

      Reply

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