Breaking the silence: vocal diversity revealed in four Peruvian gecko species, genus Phyllodactylus (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae)

Chávez G.; Victoriano-Cigüeñas K.Y.; Aznaran W.; Wong I.; Odar J.; Thompson M.E. · Salamandra (2025)

Resumen

We report the first comprehensive description of vocal repertoires in four Neotropical leaf-toed geckos (Phyllodactylus clinatus, P. kofordi, P. microphyllus, and P. sentosus), revealing substantially greater acoustic complexity than previously documented. Our study characterises distinct advertisement and distress calls across the four species, identifying three shared note types that modulate both call categories. Different note types dominated advertisement and distress calls. Our results support some acoustic patterns seen in other Gekkota lineages. Beyond ecology, this work establishes bioacoustics as a new relevant tool for investigating Phyllodactylus biology.