Novel Records of Hemidactylus turcicus (L., 1758) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) at the Turkish Black Sea Coast, with Notes on Its Morphology

The locality records of the Turkish gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) whose inhabited locations from Black Sea coast of Turkey was not clearly specified in the literature were provided in the present study. The lizards were caught from three provinces (Zonguldak, Sinop, and Trabzon). The pholidolial and morphometric characters and color-pattern features of the specimens were found similar to the specimens of H. turcicus reported in the literature.

Ecology of house lizards in the biblical palace of King Solomon

The Bible refers to house lizards that could not be exterminated, not even from king’s palaces (Solomon’s Proverbs 30:28). It probably refers to Hemidactylus turcicus, carrier of the deadly Salmonella enterica, of pandemic infamy. Considering the size of Solomon’s palace, it could have kept a population of 50 lizards which reproduced from March to August.