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I found this in Seminole Canyon just south of Big Bend in Texas. According to my Peterson guide the only gecko that looks anything like this in Texas is a Texas Banded Gecko but the Audubon Guide shows a picture and describes a species that is an even better match: the Tuscan Banded Gecko which just gets into Texas but is still some distance from where I found it. I do not have the Audubon guide on my now so cannot double check the latin name on the Tuscan. I tried google but can't find any info on that name other than a single photo. The gecko was just uner 5 inches long. Can any of you say for certain if this is a Texas Banded or a Tuscan Banded? Thanks.

I can't say for sure if this is a Tucson banded gecko or a Texas, but I may be able to give you a bit more information. The tucson banded gecko is a subspecies of the western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus bogerti), and is probably found in the range which you described. This subspecies is highly variable, which is why I will not say for sure what kind you found. I'm sure you can find pictures that will match this animal to a species, but until a reliable method for species diferentiation is found it's tough to say what this gecko really is.

I've found them in and around Seminole Canyon and always believed they were Texas. What descriptions from the guide lead you lean towards a Tucson?

The reason I was a little unsure was because the gecko was an adult but had a pattern more typical of juvenile Texas Banded Geckos. From the resources. Adult Tucson's seemed to be a better match given the resources I had available. I did figure out why I couldn't find any info on the Tucson though, I was spelling it "Tuscan". Anyway, I posted this in the gecko forum and one person there is also confident that it's a Texas which for some reason kept it's juvenile pattern.

Thanks for the help

its a tuscon. the vibrant colors of the adulty look a lot like the juvie colors of the texas.