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A white-headed dwarf gecko with tail lost due to autotomy. Autotomy (from the Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing", αὐτοτομία) or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, [1] usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape.
Like most lizards, geckos can lose their tails in defence, a process called autotomy; the predator may attack the wriggling tail, allowing the gecko to escape. [ 8 ] The largest species, Gigarcanum delcourti , is only known from a single, stuffed specimen probably collected in the 19th century found in the basement of the Natural History Museum ...
Crested geckos mating. Little is known about the wild reproductive behavior of the crested gecko. Available information has been obtained from captive animals. Females generally lay two eggs per clutch, which hatch 60–150 days after they are laid. A female crested gecko only has to mate with a male once in order to lay 2 eggs every 4–6 ...
In the U.S., geckos are common in Texas, Florida, California, and other southern states. Why Does the Gecko’s Skin Repel Water? The benefit of hydrophobic skin is that it is self-cleaning.
Despite their well-developed limbs, molecular phylogenies have demonstrated that Carphodactylidae is the sister group to Pygopodidae, a highly specialized family of legless lizards. [2] [3] Carphodactylids, despite being the most species-poor family of geckos, are still diverse in habits.
The tails of African fat-tailed geckos serve an important purpose to them. Their tails are used for fat storage, so when food is scarce their tails are able to sustain them for a while. Their tails also contribute significantly to their defense from predators. Like many other geckos they are able to drop their tails when necessary.
A new tail will then grow in its place, usually lacking the original color and texture. The muscles in the old tail will continue to flex for up to 30 minutes after the drop to distract predators. [5] Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) and African fat-tailed geckos (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) are popular pet lizards.
The roughly 6-inch-long reptile had a knobby, leaf-shaped tail with a “fringed” texture. They named it phyllurus fimbriatus, or the Scawfell Island leaf-tailed gecko .