Which of us in childhood did not catch lizards and put them on our shoulders? The main thing is not to accidentally pull the tail =) We present to your attention a selection of the 12 most beautiful geckos on our planet!
These cute little creatures are actually quite complex, for example, lizards have no eyelids at all, only a transparent membrane that they periodically clean with their tongue, and thousands of suckers on miniature paws have repeatedly confused many scientists.
In addition, many lizards, as we remember, can drop their tail, and then grow it again! This defense mechanism followed by regeneration is nonsense at all and lizards, as far as I know, are the only living creatures on the planet capable of such an amazing transformation! By the way, I think many people remember that the tail does not immediately die after it is discarded, but moves and wriggles … A terrible sight))
Well, I think it’s time to finally move on to our “hit parade” =) So, on the 12th place sits the Turkish gecko, also known as the Mediterranean domestic lizard. This miniature (finger-sized) creature usually lives in hidden places of houses, for example, inside walls and rafters, and is nocturnal — it crawls out of its shelter to feast on moths and roaches.
If you put the Turkish gecko on a transparent glass table and look from below, you can see its entire internal structure, because the tummy of many representatives of reptiles is almost as transparent as glass.
On the 11th place, the Madagascar day gecko is comfortably located (although such geckos are also found in Hawaii, they just found the first ones in Madagascar — they called it that). In the photo, something like a battle for territory between two individuals of this species is taking place.
They are distinguished from other lizards by three red stripes in the lower back and blue circles around the eyes (apparently from frequent lack of sleep), and they can eat almost everything, from pollen and nectar to small insects and even small lizards. In length, Madagascar day geckos usually reach 15–20 centimeters.
10th place is occupied by another diurnal lizard from Madagascar, which differs from the previous species in a large number of red dots on its back and in size — this is the largest gecko leading a diurnal lifestyle, reaching a length of 23 centimeters.
Feeds on Madagascariensis in principle, the same as his smaller counterpart, except that you can also add fruits to his diet)
In 9th place, there is an amazing yellow-fingered lizard Ligodactylus, living in the bamboo forests of Tanzania. All their free time they sunbathe in the sun, and at the slightest danger they hide in the cracks of bamboo.
In voice they are very reminiscent of frogs with their squeaks, clicks and croaks, and grow no more than 5 centimeters in length.
8th place is occupied by the New Zealand Green Gecko, also leading a daily lifestyle, like his Madagascar “colleagues”.
While the body of these geckos is completely green, their mouths and tongues can be orange, red, blue, black, pink or yellow!
This amazing lizard lives in the trees, using its long tail as its fifth point of support.
On the 7th place is the Skink Gecko or “Wonder Lizard”. The body of this amazing Middle Eastern reptile is practically unprotected — its skin can peel off with just one touch, but the gecko can absorb oxygen right through the skin!
Skink geckos are active only during pitch darkness, hiding at the slightest clearing of the sky — they carry the rest of the time underground, at a depth of about 80 centimeters. The photo shows that they have some similarities with frogs — for this they are also called “toad-eyed geckos”.
6th place is occupied by a pretty white-brown Cat gecko, so named because of its habit of sleeping with its tail turned around, just like a cat) This miracle lives in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Another amazing feature of the Cat Gecko is that it does not have Velcro pads on its paws, and when climbing trees, it uses prehensile claws and a tail.
In 5th place is the House gecko, which feeds on mosquitoes and other pests, and therefore is quite popular with many residents of such “mosquito” regions) These geckos live mostly in Southeast Asia, both in houses and on rocks.
4th place is deservedly occupied by the Blue-tailed gecko, which lives only on the island of Mauritius. In general, this is a diurnal reptile, but for some reason it still prefers night hunting. The bright blue back with red dots distinguishes males of this species from completely green females.
Unlike most geckos, the Mauritius is quite aggressive and usually doesn’t miss an opportunity to bite any lizard that crawls by, whether it’s also a Blue-tailed gecko or a member of another species.
By the way, do not confuse the Blue-tailed gecko with the Blue-tailed lizard, these are completely different reptiles.
Well, here we come to the three cuties) So, on the 3rd place is a miniature female Gecko with Beads (I don’t know how to translate Beaded Gekko correctly). This lizard is a kind of champion among its own kind in terms of speed of movement. This is due to the almost complete absence of fat, even in the tail area, which is not at all typical for geckos. This reptile was found in the arid regions of Australia, but so far, unfortunately, almost nothing is known about it.
The New Caledonian banana-eating gecko climbed to the second step of our rating.
This arboreal night gecko also uses its tail to climb trees, but is much stockier than its counterparts.
This lizard is also called the Crested Gecko because of the “fringed” comb that runs from the eyes to the tail.
Well, we finally got to the 1st line of our list, where the Tokay gecko sits, known primarily for its “singing”, like a frog)
This arboreal night gecko usually lives in the area of rocks and cliffs, and for its stubborn nature it was even dubbed “Pit Bull”.
If the Tokai gecko suddenly doesn’t like something and bites your finger, be prepared to wait from several minutes to an hour until he gets tired of holding his finger in his mouth … Well, where is the gecko in a hurry? Bitten and lies to himself))
To end the selection on a cheerful note, I suggest watching a short video that demonstrates the acrobatic abilities of the Tokay gecko with humor) Enjoy =)