Any of various usually small tropical and subtropical lizards of the family Gekkonidae, having toes padded with setae containing numerous suction cups that enable them to climb on vertical surfaces.
[Javanese ge'kok.]
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Any of various usually small tropical and subtropical lizards of the family Gekkonidae, having toes padded with setae containing numerous suction cups that enable them to climb on vertical surfaces.
[Javanese ge'kok.]
The name for about 300 species of reptiles that form the family Gekkonidae in the order Squamata. They are small lizards, primarily arboreal and nocturnal, which occur in the warm regions of the world. The body is flattened; most species have five digits, while some have only four; the toes often have adhesive pads to assist the animal when climbing on smooth surfaces. Geckos feed on small animals, especially insects, and all species have a long sensitive tongue to aid in capturing their prey. Most species of gecko are oviparous.
The largest, most aggressive species is the orange-spotted Tokay (Gekko gecko), which is indigenous to Southeast Asia. Another species is the flying gecko (Ptychozoon homalocephalum), which is essentially arboreal and is well adapted to leaping and gliding because it has folds of skin on either side of the body that can be opened out to form a planing surface. The banded gecko (Coelonyx variegatus) of the southwestern United States is one of the few species with movable eyelids, and with claws instead of pads on the toes. See also
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Aeluroscalabotinae |
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. There are 1,196 different species of geckos. [1] The name stems from the Malay word gekoq, imitative 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 aggressors. 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. 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 gecko's 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. Each seta is 2 diameter of human hair long i.e 100 millionth of meter and each spatulae is 200 billionth of meter long, just below wavelength of visible light.[1] 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, although adhesion varies with humidity and is dramatically reduced under water, suggesting a contribution from capillarity.[2] The setae on the feet of geckos is also self cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt within a few steps.[3][4]
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 typical mature 70g gecko had every one of its spatulae in contact with a surface, it would be capable of holding aloft a weight of 133 kg:[5] each spatula can exert an adhesive force of 10 nN.[2]
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.
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A gecko of the genus Cnemaspis from the Western Ghats |
A Hemidactylus gecko |
Close up of Hemidactylus claws |
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Leopard gecko (Juvenile) |
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http://www.lclark.edu/~autumn/dept/geckostory.html
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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