01 June 2020

Uroplatus phantasticus - the Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko



This gecko from Madagascar has feet that "contain about a billion microscopic points that bind to individual molecules, allowing the animal to walk upside down on smooth surfaces." Photo credit to Piotr Naskrecki, from a book of macrophotography, "The Smaller Majority," which I hope to review here next week.
The generic name, Uroplatus, is a Latinization of two Greek words: "ourá" (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and "platys" (πλατύς) meaning "flat". Its specific name phantasticus is the Latin word for "imaginary" based upon the gecko's unique appearance..
The photo enlarges nicely with a click.

Reposted from 2009 to add another photo (via):

6 comments:

  1. awesome post! I love seeing new things.

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  2. I bet Cthulhu has a swarm of these as pets.

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  3. This particular species of gecko sings an elaborate song to attract a mate which if played backward tells you to "kill yourself to make the devil happy".

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  4. Anon @ 6:29PM ~ Good one!!! Not at all like the sweet geckos we came to know on Guam!

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  5. Fantastic photos of an amazing animal. I found the top photo on the facebook site Perfect Timing Photos, where photographers are not credited. It's a shame and I'm glad that I found this site. It wasn't hard. Now I have given rightful credit to Piotr Naskrecki, also in a posting in my group WILDLIFE International >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/406292483044576

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