Genotypic and phenotypic evidence reveals the introduction of two distinct forms of the non-native reptile Gekko gecko to southern Florida

The red-spotted tokay gecko Gekko gecko (Linnaeus, 1758) is a widely distributed Asian gecko that has established outside of its native range in southern Florida, USA. This study used genotypic and phenotypic data to determine whether multiple, distinct forms of red-spotted tokay gecko are present in southern Florida, as has previously been hypothesised. Analysis of mitochondrial (ND2) and nuclear (RAG-1) sequence data identified two discrete mito-nuclear lineages in southern Florida, and population-level morphological structure was non-randomly associated with mito-nuclear lineage, confirming a weak but significant genotype-phenotype link. Multiple lines of evidence thus indicate the introduction of two distinct forms of tokay gecko to southern Florida. Keywords: biological invasions, multiple introductions, taxonomy, tokay gecko