R属守宫——魔物守宫（地衣卷尾守宫）

Rhacodactylus chahoua, the Mossy Prehensile-tailed Gecko

魔物守宫（地衣卷尾守宫）

Rhacodactylus chahoua, the Mossy Prehensile-tailed Gecko, is a species that inhabits the northern, middle, and southern regions of Grande Terre, and regions of Pine Island. Bavay, in 1869, scientifically identified and classified this species. R. chahoua is arboreal and lives in moderate sized trees in the forest, usually located near rivers.

魔物守宫，又称“地衣卷尾守宫”，是一种栖居于格朗德特尔岛北部、中部和南部以及松岛地区的R属守宫。1869年，拜维对该物种进行了科学鉴定和分类。魔物守宫是树栖动物，生活在森林里通常位于河流附近的中等大小的树木上。

The beautiful moss-like pattern and coloration of Grande Terre’s R. chahoua varies from a background of mottled tans, dark browns, grays, rust, and moss greens covered with red and orange mottling or banding. According to de Vosjoli, R. chahoua from Pine Island, appear to have more vivid colors and patterns than those found on Grande Terre (de Vosjoli and Fast, 2003).

主岛的魔物守宫拥有地衣般的美丽花纹和色彩，其底色有斑驳的棕色、深褐色、灰色、铁锈色和苔藓绿色，上面覆有红色和橙色斑影或带纹。德·沃斯若利认为，松岛魔物守宫的色彩和花纹似乎比主岛魔物守宫更加鲜艳（德·沃斯若利&法斯特，2003）。

These geckos have a long, slender body with a snout to vent length of approximately 5” (14 cm) and a narrow tail almost the same length as the body. As a defense behavior, R. chahous has the unique ability to completely coil its tail. The tail will coil into a spiral. If they feel threatened, R. chahoua will drop from a limb to the ground, curl into a ball, and “play dead” by remaining motionless until it feels the threat of danger is gone. This is the only Rhacodactylus species to exhibit this unique behavior.

这些守宫身体细长，肛吻距约为5英寸（约合14厘米），细窄的尾巴几乎和身体一样长。魔物守宫具有尾巴完全卷起的独特能力，这也是它们的一种防御行为。魔物守宫会将尾巴卷成螺旋状。如果受到威胁，魔物守宫会从树枝掉到地上，蜷成一团，一动不动地“装死”，直到它觉得危险的威胁已经消失。所有R属守宫中，只有魔物守宫才拥有这种独特行为。

The diet of R. chahoua in the wild has not been sufficiently studied to know exactly what they eat. However, since they readily eat crickets and various fruits in captivity, it is presumed their diet, like the other Rhacodactylus species, probably consists of insects and fruits.

魔物守宫的饮食尚未得到充分研究，人们也不清楚它们到底以什么为食。不过，由于人工饲养的魔物守宫喜食蟋蟀和各种水果，人们推测它们的饮食和其他R属守宫一样，大致由昆虫和水果组成。

R. chahoua is now being successfully bred in captivity. Sexual maturity usually occurs by the age of 12 months. Males can be distinguished from females by the presence of hemipenal bulges. Males cannot be housed together as they will become aggressive towards each other. Many breeders prefer breeding R. chahoua in pairs or very small groups of one male and two to three females. They believe there is less aggression and competition resulting in a higher egg production. Breeding can occur anytime between March and September with the female laying two eggs at a time. Incubation and hatch times are similar to the other Rhacodactylus species. Eggs incubated at 82 F will usually hatch in 60 to 65 days. For various reasons, the hatch rate for R. chahoua seems to be lower than other Rhacodactylus eggs. This could be due to their tough leathery shells that are more calcified making it difficult for the neonates to slit and to hatch.

目前，人们已经成功培育出魔物守宫。魔物守宫通常在12个月大时通常达到性成熟。雄性拥有突起的半阴茎囊，因此容易与雌性区分。雄性不宜放一起养，否则它们会攻击彼此。许多饲养者更喜欢成对饲养魔物守宫，或者饲养由一只雄性和两三只雌性组成的小型群体。他们认为，这样做可以减少攻击和竞争，提高产蛋量。魔物守宫可在3月至9月之间的任何时候繁殖，雌性每次产蛋两枚。孵化的条件和孵化时间与其他R属守宫类似。在82华氏度的温度下，守宫蛋通常会在60至65天内孵化。出于各种原因，魔物守宫的孵化率似乎低于其他R属守宫。这可能是因为它们坚硬的革质蛋壳更容易钙化，使新生儿难以破壳而出。

At the present time, R. chahoua in New Caledonia is considered vulnerable due to the species’ scattered isolated populations and because of increased habitat destruction. Another threat is a high infestation of an introduced and destructive ant species (Wasmannia auropunctata) in the R. chahoua habitat.

目前，人们认为新喀里多尼亚的魔物守宫十分脆弱，这是因为它们的种群彼此分散隔离，栖息地日益遭到破坏。而具有破坏性的外来蚂蚁物种（小火蚁）大肆入侵魔物守宫的栖息地，无疑构成另一重威胁。

R. chahoua remains one of my favorite geckos being offered in the reptile trade. A few breeders are now successfully breeding R. chahoua with R. ciliatus, producing hybrids that exhibit new colors and patterns.

魔物守宫一直是我最喜欢的守宫之一。现在有些育种者已成功杂交魔物守宫和睫角守宫，繁殖出具有全新色彩花纹的杂交品系。

With continued interest and successful breeding in captivity, the future of these beautiful and charming geckos will be assured.

只要人们兴趣不减，成功推进人工繁殖，美丽迷人的魔物守宫必将前景光明。