Gecko

Geckos are small to middle size lizards. There are 1196 different species of geckos, mostly in the suborder Gekkota. They live in many warm countries and usually are active during the night. Some kinds of geckos live in people's houses. Hemidactylus frenatus is the common house gecko. People are often happy to have them, because geckos eat many insects.

Unlike most lizards, geckos have voices. A gecko sounds a little like a bird or a frog. In some languages, these lizards have names that sound like their calls, for example, both English and Indonesian call one kind gecko (gek-KO) and tokay (to-KAY). Another kind of gecko, with a different sound, is called chicak (CHEE chak).

Most geckos lay eggs, but some give birth to live young.

Geckos have no eyelids. Instead, they have a clear membrane (skin) over their eyes. They lick the membrane clean with their tongues. Like most lizards, they can regenerate their tail if they need to. Their tail also helps them balance and store fat. Geckos also shed their skin, like many other reptiles. Geckos are also able to replace their teeth every few months.

Geckos can walk on trees, walls, windows, and ceilings. Geckos' feet form a molecular bond with the surface that they are walking on in order to "stick" to the surface. This force is called van der Waal's force.They can do this because they have special toe pads. A microscope shows that each toe pad is made of thousands of hair-like structures called setae. Each of these structures branches into many smaller ends called spatulae.Autumn, Kellar; et al. 2002. Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae. PNAS 99: 12252–12256  The rest of their skin is also covered in extremely small hairs, which make it hard for a gecko to get wet. Gecko skin can also kill bacteria.

 Taxonomy 
There are seven families under the suborder Gekkota.

 Carphodactylidae
 Diplodactylidae
 Eublepharidae
 Gekkonidae
 Phyllodactylidae
 Sphaerodactylidae
 Pygopodidae

 References 


Category:Lizards