Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:52, 6 July 2007

Geckos
Tokay Gecko
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertilia
Family:	Gekkonidae Gray, 1825
Subfamilies
Aeluroscalabotinae Eublepharinae Gekkoninae Teratoscincinae Diplodactylinae

Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. The name stems from the Malay word gekoq, imitiative of its cry. Geckos are unusual in other respects as well. Most geckos have no eyelids and instead have a transparent membrane which they lick to clean. Many species will, in defense, expel a foul-smelling material and feces onto their molester. Many species have specialized toe pads that enable them to climb smooth vertical surfaces and even cross indoor ceilings with ease. These antics are well-known to people who live in warm regions of the world where several species of geckos make their home inside human habitations. These species (for example the house gecko) become part of the indoor menagerie and are seldom really discouraged because they feed on insect pests.

Geckos come in various colors and patterns. Some are subtly patterned, and somewhat rubbery looking, while others can be brightly colored, and interesting for humans to look at. Some species can change color to blend in with their surroundings or with temperature differences.

Some species are parthenogenic, the females capable of reproducing without copulating with a male. This improves the geckos' ability to spread to new islands.

The toes of the gecko have attracted a lot of attention, as they adhere to a wide variety of surfaces, without the use of liquids or surface tension. Recent studies of the spatula tipped setae on gecko footpads demonstrates that the attractive forces that hold geckos to surfaces are van der Waals interactions between the finely divided setae (almost 500,000 Setae on each foot, and each of these tipped with between 100 and 1,000 spatulae) and the surfaces themselves. These kinds of interactions involve no fluids; in theory, a boot made of synthetic setae would adhere as easily to the surface of the International Space Station as it would to a living room wall. Geckos' toes seem to be "double jointed," but this is a misnomer. Their toes actually bend in the opposite direction from our fingers and toes. This allows them to overcome the van der Waals force by peeling their toes off surfaces from the tips inward. In essence, this peeling action alters the angle of incidence between millions of individual setae and the surface, reducing the van der Waals force. Geckos' toes operate well below their full attractive capabilities for most of the time. This is because there is a great margin for error depending upon the roughness of the surface, and therefore the number of spatulae in contact with that surface. If a gecko had every one of its spatulae in contact with a surface, it would be capable of holding aloft a weight of 133 kg The family Gekkonidae is divided into five subfamilies, containing numerous genera of gecko species. Many geckos are kept as pets and will eat various kinds of insects and sometimes fruit.

Common species of gecko

• Bibron's gecko, Pachydactylus bibroni — Native to Southern Africa, this hardy arboreal gecko is relatively common as a pet.
• Crested gecko, Rhacodactylus ciliatus — Believed extinct until re-discovered in 1994. Gaining in popularity as a pet. Unlike most other geckos, it prefers room temperature and is omnivorous.
• Crocodile gecko or Moorish gecko(due to their crocodile like looks.), Tarentola mauritanica — Crocodile geckos are very strong and heavily built for their size usually growing up to 15.24 cm (6 in). They are commonly found in the Mediterranean region from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France to Greece and northern Africa. Their most distinguishing characteristic is their pointed head and spiked skin with their tail resembling that of a crocodile's.
• Cyrtopodion brachykolon; commonly known as "bent-toed gecko", found in north-western Pakistan.
• Gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda laticauda (Boettger, 1880) (syn. Pachydactylus laticauda Boettger, 1880)) is a diurnal subspecies of geckos. It lives in northern Madagascar and on the Comoros.
• Golden gecko, Gekko ulikovski — native to the warm rainforests of Viet nam.
• House gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus — A species that thrives around man and human habitation structures in the tropics and subtropics world wide.
• Indo-Pacific gecko, Hemidactylus garnoti — Also known as a fox gecko because of its long, narrow snout. This species is found in houses throughout the tropics. This gecko may eat leafcutter ants.
• Leachianus giant gecko, Rhacodactylus leachianus — first described by Cuvier in 1829, is the largest of the Rhacodactylus geckos.
• Leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius — The most common gecko kept as a pet is the leopard gecko, which does not have toe pads with setae, but rather claws. These enable it to more easily climb on rough surfaces like tree bark. This gecko cannot climb the glass of a terrarium. The leopard gecko tends to be docile and calm. This gecko can eat butterworms, cockroaches, crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms.
• Mediterranean gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus — residential and wild, introduced species (USA).
• Mourning gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris — This species is equally at home in the wild as in residential neighborhoods. Found in Hawaii, it may have been an early Polynesian introduction. A parthenogenic species. There is a report from Hawaii of someone having seen a larger gecko of this type eating a smaller one (or rather, running away from view with a smaller gecko halfway out of its mouth) on two occasions.
• Gargoyle gecko, Rhacodactylus auriculatus — commonly known as the New Caledonian bumpy gecko or gargoyle gecko.
• Stump-toed gecko, Gehyra mutilata (Peropus mutilatus) — This gecko, commonly referred to as a Gheckl, can vary its color from very light to very dark to blend into a background. At home in the wild as well as in residential neighborhoods.
• Tree gecko, Hemiphyllodactylus typus — Tree geckos are forest dwellers.
• Tokay gecko, Gekko Gecko — a large, common, Southeast Asian gecko known for its aggressive temperament, loud mating calls, and bright markings.

Gallery

• A Mediterranean gecko in Texas (USA)
• A gecko of the genus Cnemaspis from the Western Ghats
• A Hemidactylus gecko
• Close up of Hemidactylus claws
• Leopard gecko Leopard gecko
• Northland Green Gecko, New Zealand
• Tokay gecko
• Leaf Tailed Gecko
• Bottom view of a gecko

Gecko Predators

Trivia

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (June 2007)

• The Coromandel Striped Gecko of New Zealand is the world's rarest known species of gecko.
• The Ptychozoon, also known as flying gecko, has wing-like flaps from the neck to the upper leg, to help it conceal itself on trees and provide lift while jumping.

In Human Culture

• In the past few years, geckos have entered into the consciousness of the USA as the advertising icon for the insurance company GEICO, whose advertisements feature an animated anthropomorphic gecko (of the Phelsuma genus) that speaks English with an East London accent.
• The Pokémon Treecko, and its evolved forms Grovyle and Sceptile are based on the gecko, and so is the Neopet Techo.
• The Gold dust day gecko is the un-official Hawaiian state reptile.
• A gecko called Geronimo features in the book My Family and Other Animals by the celebrated naturalist Gerald Durrell.
• Edgar, a character from the webcomic Pandect is an Ace of Blue and White geckos. He is possibly a piebald blue gecko.
• The current mascot of SUSE Linux distribution is a gecko called Geeko, also known as the "SUSE Lizard".
• in the popular manga one piece the shichibukai Gecko Moria's animal theme is a gecko.

External links

• Comprehensive leopard gecko information
• Gecko Resource Forums
• Global gecko association site with pictures, caresheets, species list
• Leopard Gecko Care
• Josh Ellis and Katie Francis
• Leopard Gecko Care/Breeder
• Gecko anatomy picture

References

1. Kellar Autumn; Metin Sitti ; Yiching A. Liang; Anne M. Peattie; Wendy R. Hansen; Simon Sponberg; Thomas W. Kenny; Ronald Fearing; Jacob N. Israelachvili; Robert J. Full. Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 2002, 99, 12252-12256. doi:10.1073/pnas.192252799
2. Kellar Autumn, Scientific American: Ask the experts. Accessed 05 June 2007

• Forbes, Peter (4th Estate, London 2005) 'The Gecko's Foot - Bio Inspiration: Engineered from Nature' ISBN 0-00-717990-1 in H/B

Template:Pet Species

• Articles with trivia sections from June 2007
• Geckos