Phelsuma guimbeaui guimbeaui

The Phelsuma guimbeaui guimbeaui lives in an area along the west coast, the northernmost range being approximately on the height of Port Louis.

As biotope, the guimbeaui prefers deciduous trees, e.g. the so-called "Government Trees", a tree species, which was planted along roads, brooks and rivers, and reaches up to 30 m of height. Unfortunately, such tree communities are cleared more and more frequently, so that the individual populations of Phelsuma guimbeaui guimbeaui now lie far apart and their existence is seriously threatened.

In still intact tree communities one can find rich populations, often living together with Phelsuma ornata. While the ornata prefers to live near the trunk, the guimbeaui guimbeaui prefers the higher branches or in the crown of the trees, where thick foliage offer a good camouflage.

With an overall length of up to 17cm this species is amongst the larger ones.

Phelsuma guimbeaui guimbeaui has a green to dark-green colouring of the body top side. Three red longitudinal stripes start between the eyes and continue to the back. While the two outside stripes are a more or less continuous line, the center strip forms a characteristic loop on the neck and dissolves into a dotted line on the back which continues also on the tail.

Phelsuma guimbeaui rosagularis

This species is Mauritius' rarest one. It was found so far only in the mountain forests of the Macchabée-Bel Ombre and Les Mares biosphere reserves. Here it profits from the nature protection and reforestation program of the WWF, which however is mainly aimed at the preservation of the pink pigeon (Nasoenas mayeri) and the Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques). Clearly cooler temperatures and very frequent precipitation are characteristic of these mountain forests. During the usually short sunshine periods the animals sit with flattened body on the trunk or the branches to warm up.

Their coloration is dark green to dark grey.

They settle only the higher deciduous trees, which offer sufficient protection and escape possibilities to them. The animals are hardly to be seen die to their hidden way of life and their good camouflage.

Phelsuma guimbeaui rosagularis differs from the guimbeaui guimbeaui by a clearly paler coloration. The design elements on head, body and tail top tend towards a pale-red to oranges colour. In this subspecies, the blue underlain loop, which forms the median back line within the neck range, is with this subspecies only ansatzweise to be recognized. Further distinguishers are the rosafarbene throat, on that the v-design of the Nominatform are missing and in the last third tuerkis to light blue colored tail top side.

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