First Observations of Mating Behavior in Captive Kuroiwa’s Ground Gecko (Goniurosaurus kuroiwae)

Abstract

Captive breeding programs are used worldwide to elucidate the natural history of endangered species and to recover and conserve their field populations. Kuroiwa’s ground gecko, Goniurosaurus kuroiwae (Namiye, 1912) is an endangered species occurring in southern Japan; however, its mating behavior has not yet been described. We thus observed and quantified mating behavior of captive G. kuroiwae. Breeding trials with two males and three females resulted in 12 successful matings. Mating included precopulatory, copulatory, and postcopulatory stages, with 13 distinct mating behaviors observed. Behaviors indicative of successful copulation included the male preferentially biting the female’s neck and the female approaching the male to initiate copulation. Mating behavior was initiated more than 10 h at night after cohabitation in some instances. These results suggest that at least one night of cohabitation is required for captive breeding of this species. Our findings thus contribute to conservation efforts by informing captive breeding programs.