Gecko facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gecko Temporal range: 110 mya – present PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Gold dust day gecko
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Gekkota Cuvier, 1817
Families
Pygopodidae Carphodactylidae Diplodactylidae Eublepharidae Sphaerodactylidae Gekkonidae Phyllodactylidae

Geckos are small to middle size lizards. 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.

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.

Taxonomy

There are six families under the suborder Gekkota.

• Carphodactylidae
• Diplodactylidae
• Eublepharidae
• Gekkonidae
• Phyllodactylidae
• Sphaerodactylidae

Common traits

Oligocene-era gecko trapped in amber

Geckos occur in various patterns and colors. Some species can change colour and may be lighter in colour at night. Some species are parthenogenetic, which means the female is capable of reproducing without copulating with a male. This improves the gecko's ability to spread to new islands. However, in a situation where a single female gecko populates an entire island, the island will suffer from a lack of genetic variation within the geckos that inhabit it. The gecko's mating call sounds like a shortened bird chirping which attracts males, when they are nearby. Like other reptiles, geckos produce very little metabolic heat. Essentially a gecko's body temperature is dependent on its environment. Also, in order to accomplish their main functions—such as locomotion, feeding, reproduction, etc.—geckos must have a relatively elevated temperature.

Shedding or molting

All geckos shed their skin at fairly regular intervals, with species differing in timing and method. Leopard geckos will shed at about two- to four-week intervals. The presence of moisture aids in the shedding. When shedding begins, the gecko will speed the process by detaching the loose skin from its body and eating it.

Adhesion ability

Close-up of the underside of a gecko's foot as it walks on vertical glass

Geckos have adhesive toe pads made of thousands of hair-like structures called setae. These toe pads allow them to adhere to most surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension. In theory, a boot made of synthetic setae would adhere as easily to the surface of the International Space Station as it would to a living-room wall, although adhesion varies with humidity. The setae on the feet of geckos are also self-cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt within a few steps.

Uroplatus fimbriatus clinging to glass

Skin

Pores on the skin are often used in classification.

Gecko skin does not generally bear scales. It is covered in extremely small hairs, which makes it hard for a gecko to get wet. Gecko skin can also kill bacteria.

Teeth

Geckos are able to replace each of their 100 teeth every 3 to 4 months.

Interesting facts about Gecko

• There are 1196 different species of geckos, mostly in the suborder Gekkota.
• Geckos are among the most colorful lizards in the world.
• These lizards have names that sound like their calls. For example, the tokay (to-KAY) gecko got its name because of the sound made by males of this species.
• Teflon is more difficult for geckos to adhere to than many other surfaces.
• Every square millimeter of a gecko's footpad contains about 14,000 hair-like setae. Each seta has a diameter of 5 μm. Human hair varies from 18 to 180 μm, so the cross-sectional area of a human hair is equivalent to 12 to 1300 setae.
• The setae of a typical mature 70 g (2.5 oz) gecko would be capable of supporting a weight of 133 kg (293 lb): each spatula can exert an adhesive force of 5 to 25 nN.
• If humans could mimic gecko adhesion, they would produce reusable self-cleaning dry adhesives with many applications. However, manufacturing synthetic setae is extremely complicated.

Images for kids

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  Carp's barking gecko licking its cornea to clear it of dust.

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  Skeleton of Eichstaettisaurus, thought to be an early member of the gecko lineage