Editing Rodrigues day gecko (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Leguat1891frontispieceFr1708.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Book frontispiece|Frontispiece]] to Leguat's 1708 [[memoir]], showing his settlement on Rodrigues; a gecko can be seen in the palm-tree|alt=Drawing of houses on Rodrigues]]
The species ''P. edwardnewtoni'' inhabited Rodrigues Island and its surrounding islets. ''P. edwardnewtoni'' was observed on coconut trees and other palms. Its habitat has been largely destroyed by humans and introduced animals such as cats and rats, which may have been the main cause of its extinction.<ref name=iucn/>

This day gecko fed mainly on palm fruit, and various insects and other [[invertebrate]]s associated with palm trees.<ref name=iucn/> It also liked to lick soft, sweet fruit, pollen and nectar.

''P. edwardnewtoni'' was documented as being unafraid of [[human]]s. It was quite tame and would even eat [[fruit]] from one's hand. [[François Leguat|Leguat]] described the behaviour as follows:
{{Quotation|The Palmtrees and Plantanes are always loaden with Lizards about a foot long, the Beauty of which is very Extraordinairy; some of them are blue, some black, some green, some red, some grey, and the colour of each the most lively and bright of any of its kind. Their common Food is the Fruit of the Palm-Trees. They are not mischievous, and so Tame, that they often come and eat the Melons on our Tables, and in our Presence, and even in our Hands; they serve for Prey to some Birds, specially the Bitterns. When we beat 'em down from the Trees with a Pole, these Birds wou'd come and devour them before us, tho' we did our utmost to hinder them; and when we offered to oppose them, they came on still after their Prey, and still followed us when we endeavoured to defend them.<ref name="Lost Land">{{cite book|author=[[species:Anthony S. Cheke|Cheke AS]], [[species:Julian P. Hume|Hume JP]]|year=2008|title=Lost Land of the Dodo: an Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rodrigues|publisher=T. & A.D. Poyser|location=New Haven and London|isbn=978-0-7136-6544-4}}</ref>}}

It can also be noted that the behavior of this species was most likely very similar to other island dwelling day geckos such as the Madagascar giant day gecko (''[[Phelsuma grandis]]'') and [[Standing's day gecko]] (''P. standingi)'' which share a very similar niche as this species.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Rodrigues night heron restoration.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Paleoart|Restoration]] of a [[Rodrigues night heron]] (''Nycticorax megacephalus'') eating a Rodrigues day gecko, based on contemporary accounts, remains, and related species. Both species are now extinct.]]