Gecko

Gecko is also known as house gecko. House gecko are small lizards belonging to the lower order gecko, found in hot climates all over the world. Geckos range from 1.6 to 60 centimetres. Geckos are unique among lizards, and their vocalization varies from species to species. Most geckos of the Gecko family will squeak or click during social interactions. Tokay geckos are known for their loud mating calls, and some other species can hiss when frightened or threatened. They are the richest group of lizard species, with approximately 1,500 different species in the world. All geckos, except Gecko species, have no eyelids. On the contrary, the outer surface of the eyeball has a transparent membrane, the cornea. 

Each of them has a fixed lens in each iris, which zooms in to allow more light to enter in the dark. A Mediterranean domestic gecko ambushed the nest of the wasp Sceliphron spinifex. Because they cannot blink, species without eyelids usually lick their corneas when they need to remove their dust and dirt to keep them clean and moist. 

About Geckos

Wall gecko are nocturnal animals and they have excellent night vision capabilities. Their colour vision in low light conditions is 350 times more sensitive than human colour vision. Nocturnal geckos evolved from diurnal species, which lost their eyeballs. Therefore, the gecko’s eye has modified its cone and increased its size in different types. Three different photosensitive pigments are retained, which are sensitive to ultraviolet, blue, and green light. They also use a multifocal optical system that enables them to generate clear images for at least two different depths. Although most lizard species are nocturnal, some species are active day and night, active during the day, and have evolved independently several times. Like most lizards, geckos lose their tails when defending. This process is called self-cutting. 

Many species are known for their specialized toe pads, which allow them to easily climb smooth, vertical surfaces, and even easily pass through internal ceilings. Wall gecko is well known to people living in hot regions of the world, where various species make their homes in human houses. These become part of indoor zoos and are often popular because they feed on insects such as moths and mosquitoes. Unlike most lizards, geckos are usually nocturnal. The largest species, kawekaweau, is only known from a single filler specimen found in the basement of the Musée de Marseille in France.  

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Gecko Skin 

Gecko skin is generally unscaled, but on a macro scale, it appears as a papillary surface composed of hair-like bumps all over the body. These impart superhydrophobicity, and the unique design of the hair imparts a deep antibacterial effect. These bumps are very small, up to 4 microns in length, and gradually become thinner. Gecko skin has been shown to have antibacterial properties, which kill Gram-negative bacteria when it comes in contact with the skin. Madagascar leaf-tailed moss gecko has a camouflage colour, mostly gray-brown to black or greenish-brown, with various markings similar to bark; lichen and moss found in the bark. It also has flaps along the body, head, and limbs, called dermal flaps, which you can lean against a tree during the day to disperse the shadows and make the outline almost invisible. 

Adhesion 

Approximately 60% of lizard species have adhesive pads on their fingers, allowing them to adhere to most surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension. Throughout the evolution of the gecko, this kind of mat was repeatedly acquired and lost. Sticky finger pads have evolved independently in approximately 11 different gecko lineages and are lost in at least 9 lineages. Spatula mushrooms are arranged in the flakes on the gecko's foot pads and can attract van der Waals forces between the flake/mushroom/spatula structure of β keratin and the surface. 

These van der Waals interactions do not involve fluids, theoretically, boots made of synthetic balls can be easily adhered to the surface of the International Space Station, just like the walls of the living room. Although the adhesion will vary with humidity. A recent study showed that gecko adhesion is mainly determined by electrostatic interaction, rather than van der Waals force or capillary force. Gecko Leg Mushrooms are also self-cleaning, usually only a few steps to remove clogged dirt. Teflon has very low surface energy, geckos are more difficult to adhere to than many other surfaces. 

The adhesion of gecko is usually improved at higher humidity, this is true even on hydrophobic surfaces, but it decreases under completely immersed water. The role of water in this system is under discussion. However, recent experiments agree that the presence of a layer of water molecules in and on the surface of the pads will increase the surface energy of both. Therefore, The energy gained by bringing these surfaces into contact increases, resulting in higher adhesion of the gecko. In addition, the elastic properties of keratin change with water absorption. The gecko’s toes appear to be double-jointed, but this is a misnomer and is aptly called digital hyperextension. Gecko’s toes may be overstretched in the opposite direction of human fingers and toes. 

This allows them to overcome the van der Waals force by peeling the toe from the tip inward. Essentially, through this peeling action, the gecko separates the spatula from the surface, so for each spatula separation, only some force is required. In most cases, the tip of the gecko is well below its total attractiveness, because the margin of error is large and depends on the roughness of the surface. 

Indian Gecko Lizard 

The Indian house gecko is also known as the golden gecko. The base of the finger is thin, free, with square scales underneath, the penultimate and the distal trapezoid spread out, each underside is covered by two large plates, with a longitudinal groove in the middle. All fingers have claws, and the telescopic claws are between the distal plates; in the inner finger, there is no penultimate expansion. Its body is covered with small granular scales, scattered with larger nodules, the abdomen scales are juxtaposed. There is no perianal or femoral hole. Its head is large and oval, which is completely different from the neck. 

It has strong round supraorbital ridges and canthal ridges, it has five deep depressions, one front, two back noses, and two rear and snout longer than the distance between the eyes and the ear hole. The limbs are long and thin. The width of the digital dilation is about half the diameter of the eye. Its head is covered with very small particles, the largest on the canthal crest, its mouth is quadrilateral, twice as wide as its height, and its rear edge is concave. Their nostrils pierce between the beak, the first lip, and the three noses. They are present in the daytime, so they are also known as day geckos. 

Common Gecko 

The common gecko is a gecko native to South and Southeast Asia. It is also called Asian house gecko, Pacific house gecko, gecko, house lizard, Tayoto, or moon lizard. Most geckos are active at night, hiding during the day and looking for insects at night. They can be seen climbing up the walls of houses and other buildings, looking for insects attracted by the porch lights, and can be immediately recognized by their characteristic screams. They grow to be 3 to 6 inches long and have a lifespan of about 5 years. These little geckos are non-toxic or harmless to humans. Most medium to large geckos are docile but may bite if injured, which can pierce the skin. 

A tropical gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, thrives in hot and humid areas. It can crawl on rotting wood to find the insects it eats, and it can also be found in urban landscapes. This animal is highly adaptable and can feed on insects and spiders, replacing other types of lizards that are less robust or less aggressive. The common house gecko is by no means a misnomer, it shows a clear preference for the urban environment. Human geckos show a tendency to prey on insects near city lights. They are found in bushes, but current evidence seems to indicate that they prefer urban environments, and their distribution is mainly defined by areas within or near the urban limits. 

The Common House gecko seems to prefer lighted areas near cracks or escape locations. Geckos that did not have an immediate opportunity to escape the potential danger showed behaviour changes to compensate for the fact that they appeared late in the evening and retreated early in the morning. Due to the lack of access to the urban landscape, they seem to prefer habitats composed of relatively dense forests or eucalyptus forests close to enclosed forests. The choice of habitat in major cities makes the common home gecko's preferred food available. 

The diet of most geckos consists of invertebrates and hunts mainly around urban buildings. The main food sources of invertebrates include cockroaches, termites, some bees and wasps, butterflies, moths, flies, spiders, and various beetles. There is limited evidence that cannibalism occurs under laboratory conditions, but this has not been observed in nature. 

The Physiology of Geckos 

Common geckos are hyperthermic animals that exhibit multiple ways of regulating body temperature through behaviour. Its physiology has an impact on its distribution and nature of interaction with native species, as well as its successful reproduction as an introduced species. 

In terms of metabolism, the needs of ordinary geckos are not significantly different from other lizard species of similar size, and oxygen consumption seems to be consistent with the trends of other tropical, subtropical, and temperate geckos species. The breathing rate of the gecko depends on the temperature above this maximum heat, but it is independent during cooling. There are behavioural thermoregulation mechanisms, such as choosing sunlight and the substrate on which it is located. They regulate their body temperature during the day and eat at night. An active form of this temperature regulation includes the presence of geckos in lighter environments, close to cracks in the substrate. Therefore, there is a close relationship between the activity level and the relevant temperature. 

The circadian time of the common gecko is further affected by the light level. This rhythm often involves the presence of the largest population around midnight, the highest activity level after sunset, gradually decreasing until sunrise. The difference in daily cycles from one place to another can usually be explained by environmental factors, such as human interaction and structural characteristics. The surge in hunting activities after dark put them in an ideal position to take advantage of the artificial lighting of surrounding invertebrates in the urban environment. Due to this degree of dependence on the environment, the temperature drop can be used as the main indicator of the decrease in gecko sightings in the medium term. 

Acute weather events such as rain or wind will lead to a sharp decrease in gecko sightings in this environment. It is not clear what long-term effects these phenomena may have on the distribution of common lizards and their ability to compete with other species of lizards. There is some weak evidence that females have a tendency to increase in temperature, which has the evolutionary advantage of accelerating the rate of egg development. However, there is no statistically significant data to support this. Since they are species that are adapted to tropical or subtropical environments, there appear to be few physiological adaptations aimed at preventing water loss. This can limit their ability to thrive in arid or semi-arid environments.