A Dubai lawyer who has spent four decades studying plants and animals native to the Emirates has had a species of gecko named after him.
Scientists have named it Feulner’s semaphore gecko (Pristurus feulneri) after Gary Feulner. The name is a reference to how it communicates using its tail and body. The gecko is commonly found across the Hajar Mountains in the north-east of the UAE and Oman.
Mr Feulner, 77, a US citizen who moved to the UAE in the early 1980s, has chaired Dubai Natural History Group since 1995 and published many scientific studies on the country’s animals, plants and geology. He said he was “very much flattered and honoured” to have the gecko named after him. “It was nice to know that my work was appreciated,” he said.
Mr Feulner, who studied geology at top US universities before switching to law, came to the UAE at the end of 1983 and began hiking in the countryside.
“I explored it thoroughly,” he said. “I was famous for saying, ‘If you go places you haven’t gone before, you see things you haven’t seen before.' No matter how many times you’ve been out, if you look carefully you always see something that’s new or different.
"Not necessarily a new animal or plant, but new behaviour, new phenomena. My weekend hiking activities, and early '80s and '90s desert-exploring activities, I’ve turned those into scientific results by just keeping records of what I see.”
Papers Mr Feulner has written cover subjects as diverse as lizards, beetles, butterflies, toads, fish, snails, wadi grass, geology, mountain ecosystems and climate. He has also written on legal issues.
He said he was not “the only semi-amateur person going around doing interesting things” and described the species being named after him as “a recognition of the contribution of amateur scientists” to the study of the UAE’s natural history.
Mr Feulner initially lived in Abu Dhabi and, after a spell away, in the 1990s moved to Dubai, where he continues to live. He spends about two months a year in the US and a similar period helping at a school in Nepal that he sponsors.
Dedicated to the UAE
Prof Salvador Carranza, the senior author of the study in which the gecko is recognised as a species and named, described Mr Feulner as “an example of dedication to nature preservation and the study of nature in the UAE”.
“Also Gary has been really active in the mountains, in the Hajars he’s a specialist,” said Prof Carranza, who is director of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. “He’s been working there for ages, since he started in the UAE many, many years ago. He’s really expert in the geology of the Hajar Mountains and a real expert in the natural history of the UAE.”
Now that the species has been named after him, Mr Feulner said he would like to uncover what the signals of the gecko meant.
“Maybe with my name on it, I’ll go out of my way and spend some time, take a chair with me and find a spot where they’re common and see if I can figure out what they’re saying to each other,” he said.
Another of the authors of the new study, Johannes Els, of the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in Sharjah, said naming the gecko after Mr Feulner was "a fitting tribute to his extensive and enduring contributions to the study of natural history in the UAE and northern Oman".
"Over several decades, his work has significantly advanced understanding of the region’s biodiversity, including reptiles, freshwater fishes, molluscs, insects and flora," he said.
Mr Els said "meticulous field observations" made by Mr Feulner had helped map the distribution of numerous reptile species across the Hajar Mountains and beyond, "providing vital data for conservation studies".
He also said Mr Feulner had "played a key role" as a mentor and leader among naturalists, and in his three decades chairing Dubai Natural History Group had bridged the gap between amateur enthusiasts and professional researchers.
"His efforts to promote public engagement with natural history have ensured that future generations will continue to explore and protect the unique ecosystems of the UAE," Mr Els said.
Geckos are no strangers
Feulner’s semaphore gecko is not the only gecko to call the Emirates home. The National reported previously how the Emirati leaf-toed gecko – Asaccus caudivolvulus – was thought to be on the brink of extinction but a 2022 expedition found the geckos in five locations despite heavy development in the area.
Geckos play a vital role in ecosystems because they feed on insects and help to balance the number of species. Last year, The National reported how a number of geckos were able to glow in the dark at night.
Bright fluorescence, often found around the eye and around the flanks, was seen in two species, the dune sand gecko (Stenodactylus doriae) and the Arabian web-footed sand gecko (Trigonodactylus arabicus), both of which inhabit very sandy environments with little vegetation.
The eastern sand gecko (S. leptocosymbotes) also showed fluorescence, albeit less prominently, around its eyes and on its flanks, while a fourth species, Slevin’s sand gecko (S. slevini), had a small amount around its eye.
