Crested Gecko Morph Guide

This is intended to be reference material for people having questions with the morphs. Since the book is now out of print, not everyone has access to a copy of an actual published morph guide. With permission from Allen, I have created this guide based on the book Rhacodactylus: The Complete Guide to their Selection and Care. Almost all the information and explanations stem from the definitions lined out in the book, but have been adjusted slightly towards the morphs as they are today. (the quotes and some of the photos are directly from the text) There is still not a consensus on numerous aspects of this topic, but hopefully I can cover things the way that a majority of folks see them.

Here is a diagram as a reference to some of the things that I will discuss. This image is directly from the Rhacodactylus book and comes in very handy when trying to understand the morphs and zones of patterning.



Patternless: A,B,C,D,E = same color
Tiger: A,B,C,D = Same color with dark streaking
Dalmation: Scattered black, red, green, or white spots in all zones
White-fringe: Light or cream colored fringe lining the hind limbs
Flame/Fire: A and B light with or without streaks. C dark base color. D is patterned.
Harlequin: A and B are light colored. C, D, and E are patterned to various degrees.
Chevron-back: A and C are dark. B is light chevron pattern.



Patternless:

Patternless crested geckos have a uniform coloration lacking all but the faintest traces of pattern.

Geckos of this morph can be found in a variety of colors and are typically named for their basal coloration. For example, you can find olives, buckskins, yellows, reds, etc. Some will show traits such as white-fringing to their hind legs, white lined lips, or even a few dalmation spots, but these traits do not change their morph type.

The most popular geckos of this morph are the “Reds”. They are a brightly colored red or rust colored gecko with little to no other patterning.


An example of a brown patternless crested gecko.


Bicolor:

Bicolor geckos are essentially patternless geckos except that they aren’t just one color. They are typically distinguished by a lighter shaded mid-dorsal zone (between the lateral crests) with a darker basal body color. They can also be found with a lighter body color and darker mid-dorsal line. The contrast can range quite a bit, with the higher contrast bi-colors being more difficult to find. This morph can also have minimal patterning or traits showing through, but it should still be quite faint and the back stripe continuous without any breaks. Bicolor “Red” crested geckos are very common.


An example of a bicolor red crested gecko.


Chevron-back:

The chevron-back morph is a description that is rarely used, but is still shown in the Rhacodactylus book. It is not a widely accepted morph, but can be used as a descriptor nonetheless. There has been a lot of debate over this morph on different forum sites, but the term can be seen around so I thought it would be worth mentioning. The most true looking chevron-back geckos are very hard to find, but not very sought after due to the lack of patterning.

In contrast to ‘fire’ crested geckos, the head is the same color as the body background coloration.

A chevron-backed gecko should have no patterning on the sides and limbs, and the same coloration across the entire body, including the head. The only patterning should be yellow or cream colored markings in the mid-dorsal zone. These may or may not be in the shape of actual chevrons, a “V” shape seen in various other cultural designs and items.


Based on the definition lined out in the book and by keepers who
refer to their geckos as such, this pictured gecko could be
considered chevron-backed.


Dalmation:

The dalmation morph is quite simply defined by the spotting on the gecko’s body. This is more of a trait than it is a morph, due to the fact that dalmation spots can be coupled with every other pattern. A very high percentage of crested geckos have dalmation spots, whether it is just a few, or many. The spotting is usually black in color, but breeders have recently been improving on the red and green spotting.

The spotting can be sparse or numerous, and it’s up to the individual keeper as to whether they include it in the description of their gecko. There are geckos now that have such intense spotting that they are referred to as “super dalmations”. There is no distinct line as to what is a dalmation and what is a super dalmation, but most geckos with a very high density of spots are considered super dalmations, regardless of their basal patterning.

Most people will neglect to mention that their gecko is a dalmation if the spotting is minimal and not very distinctive. They will stick to the next most distinct pattern showing and refer to their gecko using that morph.


A sparsely spotted crested gecko than could be considered a Dalmation Flame.


A patternless crested gecko showing a higher density of dalmation spots.


An even higher density of dalmation spots. This one could be
called a “Super Dalmation” due to the amount of spots. However,
it is completely dependent on the individual whether or not they
want to label it as such.

Pinstripe:

The pinstripe morph is possibly the most distinct morph of them all. It is easily characterized by the light colored stripes along the lateral crests, beginning at the head and running to the base of the tail. The color can be anything which is lighter than the background color and highlights the elongate crest scales.

Pinstripe crested geckos may or may not have other coloration to the body. The highlighted crests scales can be seen with the other morphs as well, typically the fire/flame and harlequin morphs. This is a prime example of one which really only has the pinstripe pattern, and very elongate scales.



There are varying degrees of pinstriping to each individual crested gecko. Those which have bold light lines running the entire length of their back and including all the crest scales are considered to be “Full” or “100%” pinstripes. The one pictured below would be considered 100% pinstripe and is a great example of the morph.



Geckos with pinstripes that do not include all the crest scales are considered to be “partial” pinstripes, and are signified using the percentage system such as 75%, 90%, 99%, etc. Most people do not refer to their gecko as a partial pinstripe unless it has over 50% of its scales highlighted by the pinstripe coloration. Since the morph has been so refined over the past few years, it seems futile to use the description if anything less than that is apparent.

Through many years of selective breeding, other variations of the morph have come about. This gecko has incredible markings, and displays 4 stripes along its back and sides. It is still considered a pinstripe, but is much more unique than the typical pinstripe you see.


A quad-striped crested gecko, showing pinstriping to the lateral crests as well as the sides.

Another variation is called the reverse pinstripe, which comes about due to the dark lines running the length of the crest scales. In this gecko, the reverse pinstripe coloration is apparent. Although this one still has the typical pinstripes, you can clearly see the dark lines running parallel to the lateral crests.


Reverse Pinstripe

Tiger / Brindle:

A tiger crested gecko has a light background coloration streaked with darker colored lines. The entire body (including the head) is usually all the same color, aside from the darker bands distinguishing the morph. They normally have patterned bellies as well.


A Tiger crested gecko. Notice the mostly uniform body coloration except for
the dark vertical barring to the sides.

Brindle is a term used to describe the extreme form of the tiger morph. A brindle will have the same coloration scheme, except that the patterning will be much more intense. The lines and streaks of dark color will be much tighter together and will just about equal the amount of light background color. The pattern usually reaches all the way up to the head, and is not limited to just the sides of the gecko.


A brindle crested gecko

Flame/Fire:

The flame morph is sometimes referred to as “fire”. They are considered to be synonymous for the same morph. I’ll explain using the term Flame, even though it can be used interchangeably with Fire.

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of confusion with these two morphs, probably because they could be one or the other due to such a gradation of pattern. Basically, the flame morph is the simplest form of a harlequin, and harlequins are much more intensely patterned flames. However, there is no good clear line between each of them. I’ll explain some of the distinguishing marks and ways to categorize each one.

On the head and along the middle of the back (Zone B), fire crested geckos have a light ground coloration streaked with darker pattern. Along the sides, just outside the lateral crests (Zone C), is usually a strip of solid color of the same shade as the dark patterning in the mid-dorsal area. Below that zone, the solid dark background color is broken up by light-colored patches extending up from the ventral area.

Classic ‘fire’ type crested geckos have a neatly defined light colored head and mid-dorsal area that contrast sharply with the background color and solid colored limbs.

The following two geckos would be considered Flame crested geckos, with the one on the bottom fitting the “classic” explanation perfectly. These are sometimes confused for chevron-backs, but their light colored heads and overall light backs signify flame.



Two flame crested geckos.


Here is another example of a flame morph…this one showing some
patterning to its sides.


Harlequin:

The harlequin morph is simply a more patterned flame morph, with pattern across the body and limbs to various degrees. In this morph, the zone just outside the lateral crests usually has some type of markings. The mid-dorsal zone and head are light colored with streaking also. Normal harlequins seem to have just as much pattern as they do basal coloration.



These two crested geckos are excellent examples of the harlequin morph.

In recent years, people have been referring to the highest quality harlequins as being “Extreme Harlequins”. Again, there is no clear definition for this gradation of pattern, but it would seem safe to call a harlequin an “extreme” if a huge percentage of the body was patterned…say 85-90%. (This estimate is based solely on observation and carefully studying what the general population refers to as an extreme harlequin. In no way is this absolute, and it is still open to interpretation.)


This gecko could be called and Extreme Harlequin. Notice the high
density patterning across the body and limbs.

The biggest issue arises when distinguishing between the two morphs. The following three geckos I would consider borderline between flame and harlequin. There is a lack of patterning all the way up the sides of the gecko, signifying flame. However, their limbs are patterned to a certain degree, and some people would argue they should be grouped with the harlequins. It is probably best to call them flames to avoid giving a false impression. Their patterning is bold and contrasts with the background, but it’s not nearly as dense as it could be to consider them to be harlequins.







Other color patterns and terms

Creamsicle

‘Creamsicle’: A dark orange and cream-yellow ‘fire’ crested gecko.

This is a color pattern that has really become popular in the past couple of years. The creamsicle crested geckos on the market today differ a great deal from the book definition above. Marketed creamsicles are now a reddish base color (orange-red to red) with creamy harlequin or flame patterns. The photo below is an accepted creamsicle.



Moonglow

A moonglow crested gecko is essentially a very lightly colored one, as close to white as possible. There is no exact definition, as the morph name has come about to describe any crested gecko that is very light in coloration. Not many people support the use of the term, but since it is discussed in certain venues, it was worth mentioning here.


Here is an example of one that has been considered a moonglow in the past.

Blonde:

This is another coloration term used to describe a dark crested gecko with light markings, especially the flame patterning between the lateral crests. The best blonde flames and harlequins have very light cream coloration on a dark brown to black base.


An example of a “blonde” crested gecko.

Halloween

This is normally a harlequin (or a flame) morph gecko with dark brown basal coloration and orange to red patterning. “Halloween Harley” is a common term with online forums and websites.

Phantom pinstripe

The term has been coined by a well-known breeder for a crested gecko with elongate pinstripe scales, but no associated light coloration. A normal pinstripe gecko has elongate scales with light cream or yellow coloration. For the phantoms, the scales are dark in color, or closely resemble the coloration of the rest of the body.

Portholes

This is a term used to describe the small white spots on the sides of a gecko. They resemble the small windows of ships, hence the name portholes. They can also be elongate in shape and can eventually connect to form lateral lines on the gecko’s sides. An example of this is located in the Pinstripes section.



Blush / Blushing

This is another term used to describe a gecko trait. Quite often, crested geckos will display an orange to reddish colored throat and neck area. This has been considered “blushing”.


An example of a “blushing” gecko.

These explanations and some definitions may be changed at any time by the original poster. Photos and wording will be edited as needed, and suggestions are welcome. As new morphs, color patterns, etc. are discussed, they will be added to this list if they are legitimate and examples can be given.

This is meant to be a learning aid and tool…so please, do not debate over the morphs or information given. No derogatory, insulting, or offensive posts here please. Reserve that for Private Messages and emails if possible.

A huge Thanks to everyone who allowed me to use their photos for this project.

Please submit any questions, suggestions, changes, etc. directly to me via PM if you’d like. Thanks.