Historically, Rábida Island in the Galápagos had no records of living leaf-toed geckos, only bone remains dating back thousands of years. It was in 2011 that the Galápagos National Park and its partners were able to eradicate brown rats that invaded the island. After a year, a gecko was spotted, and more geckos were collected through expeditions carried out in 2019 and 2021. The paper, published in June 2025, came almost 14 years after the eradication. The authors suggest the removal of the rats may have helped the geckos, but it is not known how the two species interacted on Rábida Island before the rats were removed.
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