Geckos

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Geckos
Tokeh (Gekko gecko)

Tokeh ( Gekko gecko )

Systematics
without rank: Amniotes (Amniota)
without rank: Sauropsida
Superordinate : Scale lizards (Lepidosauria)
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Geckos (gekkota)
Family : Geckos
Scientific name
Gekkonidae
Gray , 1825

Geckos (Gekkonidae) are a family of the squamata (squamata). They have been populating the earth for about 50 million years and have spread worldwide in the course of their development . Thanks to their excellent adaptability, the geckos have conquered a wide variety of habitats and can be found both in the temperate zones and in the deserts of the earth, but especially in the tropics . There they have achieved great biodiversity .

features

Geckos are small to medium-sized lizards that can grow between 1.6 cm ( Sphaerodactylus ariasae ) and almost 40 cm. The Kawekaweau gecko ( Hoplodactylus delcourti ), presumably from New Zealand and probably not extinct until the late 19th century , even reached a body length of around 60 cm. The Rodrigues giant gecko ( Phelsuma gigas ) , which died out around 1840, was similar in size .

Around three quarters of the gecko species are crepuscular or nocturnal animals with a correspondingly inconspicuous coloration and a slit pupil adapted to night activity . The helmet gecko ( Tarentola chazaliae ) is the only vertebrate species, white from the one that they can see colors at night. The geckos owe this property to their extremely light-sensitive eyes. The cones of the retina of the helmet gecko are around 350 times more sensitive to light than those of the human eyes in twilight. Sometimes the shy nocturnal and usually very nimble animals sunbathe in the early twilight or during the day, as most members of the day gecko genus like to do. In contrast to their nocturnal relatives, the latter are more conspicuously colored and have a round pupil.

Another subdivision of geckos is related to their toes. A rough subdivision can be made into lamellar geckos and clawed geckos. Thanks to their extraordinarily high level of adhesion, lamellar geckos can even walk upside down on panes of glass thanks to their feet, which are covered with billions of extremely fine hairs ( spatulae ; about 200 nanometers wide and long), using Van der Waals forces and electrostatic forces . This adhesion of the geckos is favored by a certain low level of moisture (water), but is greatly reduced if there are condensation water droplets. Geckos slip on wet glass or feet that have been soaked in water for a long time. There are a total of six subdivisions in the classification of feet alone.

Representatives of the Gekkonidae lay calcareous eggs.

In the case of Cyrtodactylus philippinicus it was experimentally proven in 2010 that the animals of this species can orientate themselves on the earth's magnetic field . This was the first evidence of a magnetic sense in scale creepers .

  1. ↑ This section also includes representatives of other gecko-like families that were formerly part of the Gekkonidae.

Genera and selected species

The following 55 genera with more than 1000 known species belong to the Gekkonidae family:

Agamura persica
Cnemaspis sp.
Gehyra mutilata
Lepidodactylus lugubris
Phelsuma laticauda
Rhoptropus bradfieldi diporus
Tenuidactylus caspius

literature

Web links

Commons : Geckos (Gekkonidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
 Wikispecies: Gekkonidae  - Species directory
Wiktionary: Gecko  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lina SV Roth, Linda Lundström, Almut Kelber, Ronald HH Kröger, Peter Unsbo: The pupils and optical systems of gecko eyes. In: Journal of Vision. Vol. 9, No. 3, 2009, Article 27, doi: 10.1167 / 9.3.27 .
  2. ↑ Hadi Izadi, Katherine ME Stewart, Alexander Penlidis: Role of contact electrification and electrostatic interactions in gecko adhesion . In: Journal of The Royal Society Interface . tape 11 , no. 98 , September 6, 2014, ISSN  1742-5689 , p. 20140371 , doi : 10.1098 / rsif.2014.0371 , PMID 25008078 ( royalsocietypublishing.org [accessed January 27, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Zoology: Geckos don't like wet feet. science.ORF.at , August 9, 2012, accessed on June 15, 2016. - Based on: Alyssa Y. Stark et al .: The effect of surface water and wetting on gecko adhesion. In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 2002.
  4. ↑ C. Marek, N. Bissantz, E. Curio, A. Siegert, B. Tacud & D. Ziggel: Spatial orientation of the Philippine bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus philippinicus) in relation to its home range. In: Salamandra. Volume 46, No. 2, 2010, pp. 93-97, full text .