Flat-Tailed House Gecko

Fascinating facts about the Flat-Tailed House Gecko

• Flat-tailed house geckos glide using skin flaps called patagia that stretch across their trunk, tail and femoral region. The same kind of gliding surface appears in the unrelated Gekko genus, but in Hemidactylus platyurus the flaps grew from fat deposits that swell along the sides.
• When a flat-tailed house gecko loses its grip on a slick surface, it presses its fat-filled tail against the wall, using it like a fifth leg to stop a backward tumble. Researchers found the lizard can fall back as much as 60 degrees and still right itself, rotating the tail in just a tenth of a second while keeping its spine and limbs still. In freefall the tail also steers the animal, creating a parachuting effect that lets it land feet-first. This tail-driven acrobatics reveals a hidden tool for balance and escape that could inspire robots with active tails.
• The flat-tailed house gecko spans a huge native range across southeastern and southern Asia, from Bangladesh and the Indian Himalayas to the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines. It has also established populations in the United States, now found in five Florida counties: Pinellas, Alachua, Lee, Broward and Miami-Dade.
• Flat-tailed house geckos are a staple of the pet trade, sold in chain stores simply as "house gecko." Their distinctive side flaps make them look like miniature flying geckos. They thrive in misted terrariums with insect prey, though they are not easy to handle. Reptile keepers also raise them as live food for snakes such as the Asian green vine snake.
• Adult flat-tailed house geckos are tiny flyers, measuring just 61 mm (2.4 in) from snout to vent, with a tail that adds another 66 mm (2.6 in). while the long tail provides both balance in the air and a surface for the fat-filled patagia.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia
• Mongabay

At a glance

About the Flat-Tailed House Gecko

In the warm, golden light of dusk, the flat-tailed house gecko emerges from its hiding places, its slender form unfolding like a tiny, living shadow as it pads silently across the walls and ceilings of its human-made domain. With eyes that shine like dark, polished jewels, this diminutive hunter navigates the intricate landscape of cracks and crevices, its delicate feet barely making a whisper as it pursues the tiny insects that dance in the fading light. As it moves, its flat, broad tail flicks back and forth, a subtle counterbalance to its swift, darting movements, a testament to the gecko's remarkable agility and adaptability.

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