New Caledonian Crested Gecko

Gecko

On their toes
Type
lizard

Reptiles

Area
All continents except Antarctica
All continents except Antarctica
Endangered Status

Some Endangered

facts

size
.75 to 14in
length
A pencil is 7.5 inches long.
Gecko compared to the size of a pencil
food
insects
fruit, plants
Insectivorous Omnivore
insectivore

Most eat insects; some species eat fruit and nectar.

habitat
rainforests
to deserts
Rainforest habitat leaves

description

View of hairlike structures on the bottom of a gecko's feet

Terrific toes

Geckos don’t have long claws, but they are able to run along tree branches. They can even crawl up house walls and across ceilings. The secret is on the bottom of the gecko’s toes. Atoms on special hairlike structures called setae bond with the atoms of whatever surface this reptile is on.

New Caledonian Rough-nosed gecko

The eyes have it

Some species of geckos are active during the day. Their eyes have round pupils. Geckos that are nocturnal have strange-looking pupils in photographs. That’s because their pupils squeeze almost completely closed until they look like a vertical line. In the dark, the pupils open wide.

Banded velvet gecko

Give me a call

Geckos are believed to be the only lizards that call. Depending on the kind of gecko, the noise might be a squeak, click, croak, hiss, or a “barking roar.” Some species only make sounds during their mating season. But some types of gecko are noisy fighters over food and/or territory.