gecko (gĕk`ō), small or medium-sized lizard of the family Gekkonidae. The more than 300 species are distributed throughout the warm regions of the world, mostly in the Old World. Despite folklore to the contrary, their bite is not poisonous. Many species are arboreal, while others inhabit human dwellings. Most lack movable eyelids and have characteristic pads on the undersides of their feet that enable them to cling to smooth surfaces and to run upside down on ceilings. The pads contain microscopic backward-projecting hairs covered by tiny pads that may generate an adhesive force through van der Waals attractions (see intermolecular forces intermolecular forces, forces that are exerted by molecules on each other and that, in general, affect the macroscopic properties of the material of which the molecules are a part. Such forces may be either attractive or repulsive in nature.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Geckos are unique among lizards in that they possess voices, and different species make characteristic sounds. They feed on small animals, chiefly insects. Nearly all lay eggs. The largest species is the 14-in. (35.5-cm) tokay, Gekko gecko, of SE Asia. The wall gecko, Tarentola mauritanica, of the Mediterranean region is commonly seen basking by day on walls and rocks; it hunts by night. There are two native species in the United States, the leaf-fingered gecko (Phyllodactylus tuberculatus) of extreme S California and Baja California, and the banded, or ground, gecko (Coleonyx variegatus) of the deserts of the SW United States and N Mexico. The latter is a ground-dwelling form and lacks foot pads. In Florida there are several introduced West Indian species as well as the widely distributed Turkish gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, originally from Africa. Geckos are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Gekkonidae.
Any of about 750 species of harmless but noisy lizards in the family Gekkonidae: small, usually nocturnal reptiles that have soft skin, a short, stout body, a large head, and weak limbs often equipped with suction-padded digits. The pads contain tiny hairlike projections that cling to surfaces, allowing geckos to climb absolutely smooth and vertical surfaces and even to run across ceilings. Most are 1–6 in. (3–15 cm) long, including the tail, and they are usually drably coloured, with gray, brown, or white predominating. They live in habitats ranging from deserts to rainforests in warm areas worldwide. Where kept as pets in houses or apartments, they are allowed to run free and eat undesirable insects.
gecko
gecko [′gek·ō]
..... Click the link for more information. ). Geckos are unique among lizards in that they possess voices, and different species make characteristic sounds. They feed on small animals, chiefly insects. Nearly all lay eggs. The largest species is the 14-in. (35.5-cm) tokay, Gekko gecko, of SE Asia. The wall gecko, Tarentola mauritanica, of the Mediterranean region is commonly seen basking by day on walls and rocks; it hunts by night. There are two native species in the United States, the leaf-fingered gecko (Phyllodactylus tuberculatus) of extreme S California and Baja California, and the banded, or ground, gecko (Coleonyx variegatus) of the deserts of the SW United States and N Mexico. The latter is a ground-dwelling form and lacks foot pads. In Florida there are several introduced West Indian species as well as the widely distributed Turkish gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, originally from Africa. Geckos are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Gekkonidae.
gecko
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Diurnal gecko (Phelsuma).
(credit: Anthony Bannister/EB Inc.)
gecko
any small insectivorous terrestrial lizard of the family Gekkonidae, of warm regions. The digits have adhesive pads, which enable these animals to climb on smooth surfaces
gecko [′gek·ō]
(vertebrate zoology)
The common name for more than 300 species of arboreal and nocturnal reptiles composing the family Gekkonidae.
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