![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tiny-Leaf-toed-gecko-Phyllodactylus-maresi-in-hand-Photo-credit-Island-Conservation-released.jpg\")
Tiny Leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus maresi) \u2013 Photo credit: Island Conservation<\/p>\n Tiny Leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus maresi) \u2013 Photo credit: Island Conservation<\/p>\n
In a thrilling twist of ecological fate, scientists have confirmed the rediscovery of a tiny gecko species once thought extinct on R\u00e1bida Island in the Gal\u00e1pagos.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a successful restoration and rewilding project, the discovery marks a major conservation milestone that shines as a beacon of hope for biodiversity recovery efforts worldwide.<\/p>\n
The elusive Leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus maresi) was previously only known to have walked the island from 5,000-year-old fossil records.<\/p>\n
Its existence has now been officially documented through live specimens collected during expeditions by the US nonprofit Island Conservation\u2014evidence which has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal<\/a> PLOS ONE this month.<\/p>\n This rediscovery was made possible by a successful, bold conservation intervention in 2011 led by Island Conservation in partnership with the Galapagos National Park, Charles Darwin Foundation, and The Raptor Center.<\/p>\n The partners removed damaging, non-native invasive rodents from R\u00e1bida Island, paving the way for native species to bounce back\u2014and within a year of completing the eradication, they discovered the Leaf-toed Gecko long thought extinct.<\/p>\n \u201cThe return of this gecko highlights nature\u2019s incredible power to heal itself when given the chance,\u201d said Paula Casta\u00f1o<\/a>, Island Conservation\u2019s Impact Program Manager. \u201cIt\u2019s another example of the recovery we\u2019ve seen on islands worldwide: when you rebalance an ecosystem, it can bounce back quickly and dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE GALAPAGOS GOOD NEWS: Researchers from Island Conservation, the QCAZ Museum of Zoology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Re:wild, and the Gal\u00e1pagos National Park Directorate used DNA sequencing and detailed morphological analysis to trace the gecko\u2019s evolutionary roots.<\/p>\n The R\u00e1bida population was found to be genetically distinct, yet closely related, to Phyllodactylus maresi from nearby islands. The team designated the R\u00e1bida geckos as a unique Evolutionarily Significant Unit\u2014which is a distinct lineage crucial for conservation.<\/p>\n The rediscovery not only reignites hope for other \u201clost\u201d species but also deepens our understanding of island evolution and biodiversity. Islands are resilient, and when given the chance, can host surprising recovery beyond what anyone thought possible.<\/p>\n OTHER ERADICATION SUCCESSES: \u201cThis archipelago still holds hidden surprises, waiting to be discovered,\u201d said Omar Torres-Carvajal, Curator of Reptiles at QCAZ Museum of Zoology.<\/p>\n HELP THIS STORY GET OFF THE ISLAND By Sharing The Good News on Social Media\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tiny Leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus maresi) \u2013 Photo credit: Island Conservation In a thrilling twist of ecological fate, scientists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[4122,33506,79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-41654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ecuador","9":"tag-galapagos","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\u2022 100-Year-Old Gal\u00e1pagos Giant Tortoise Found on Fernandina Island is Indeed Member of \u2018Extinct\u2019 Species<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Rabida-Island-in-Galapagos-Credit-Island-Conservation.jpg\")
R\u00e1bida Island in Gal\u00e1pagos \u2013 Credit Island Conservation<\/p>\n
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