#geckolepis

[markscherz]

please post the naked geckos

Back in 2017, @leotide posted this incredible piece, which is easily one of my favourite scientific illustrations of all time.

An actual photo of a skinless Geckolepis (here a never-before-posted photo of a G. cf. maculata, not G. megalepis) is below the cut. There is no blood or gore, but I could see how this would make some uncomfortable, so I have hidden it.

I have examined dozens of museum specimens of these geckos, and I haven't found a single one that appeared never to have lost at least some part of its skin or tail and regrown them. So, although it seems extreme, this is something these geckos do readily, and are specially adapted to do. Remarkably, they seem to be able to make a full recovery, even when a huge portion of the skin is lost in this way. They seek shelter in a humid spot, and let the skin regrow—a process that apparently only takes a matter of weeks. And yes, it's the whole dermis, not just the scales. This makes my work as a taxonomist very hard, because counting scales is one of the most reliable ways to tell lizard species apart.

The readiness with which these geckos lose their scales means that a careless capture can quickly result in an animal that looks like the one pictured above. Many museum specimens look like this one—impossible to count scales on. It is for this reason that I have developed special techniques to work with these geckos. It honestly shocks me that they are in the pet trade; you could not ask for a more fragile reptile pet!

[wikipediapictures]

Geckolepis

“Geckolepis megalepis specimen observed by A. Anker” - via Wikimedia Commons

[a-random-goblin]

EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS IT'S A LITTLE FRIEND

[herpsandbirds]

Fish-scaled Gecko (Geckolepis megalepis), family Gekkonidae, northern Madagascar

photograph by Arthur Anker

[sleepy-bebby]

Geckolepis maculata a.k.a fish scale gecko.

[dendroica]

New Gecko Species Strips Naked to Escape Predators

Geckos are famous for their ability to shed their tails to escape from the clutches of death. However, a newly discovered species of gecko takes it one step further by actively shedding its scales and baring all in a bid for freedom.

Geckolepis megalepis is a recently described species of fish scale gecko endemic to northern Madagasgar. Fish sale geckos are known for their large detachable scales, but this new species possesses the largest body scales of any known gecko. When touched, G. megalepis geckos can detatch their scales in an attempt to escape from predators and whilst this scale-shedding leaves them looking like a piece of raw chicken in the short-term, their scales will rapidly regrow in a matter of weeks.

“A study a few years ago showed that our understanding of the diversity of fish-scale geckos was totally inadequate,” says Mark D. Scherz, lead author of the new study and PhD student at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Zoologische Staatssammlung München, “it showed us that there were actually about thirteen highly distinct genetic lineages in this genus, and not just the three or four species we thought existed. One of the divergent lineages they identified was immediately obvious as a new species, because it had such massive scales. But to name it, we had to find additional reliable characteristics that distinguish it from the other species.”

All Geckolepis geckos are also known to shed, or autotomize, their scales when touched or grapsed. The scales of Geckolepis can come off with very little provocation and they have historically been difficult to identify due to their habit of losing their scales when caught.

Article title: “Off the scale“

[herpskeepers]

New Gecko Sheds Skin on Demand, Looks Like Raw Chicken

The Madagascar native has unusually large scales that it can drop with extraordinary ease, a new study says.

[NEWS] Tear-away pants may provide comic relief on the big screen, but for some geckos, shedding skin fast can mean life or death.

Meet Geckolepis megalepis, a new species of fish-scaled gecko from Madagascar that can drop its scales on demand—all the way down to the muscle. The tropical creature joins four other lizard species that lose their skin when threatened, similar to the well-known reptilian strategy of shedding tails to escape predators.

The newfound reptile is notable for the extraordinary size and thickness of its scales—its Latin name means "very large scales." Almost like bony plates, the scales shear bloodlessly off G. megalepis along a special layer of cells at the base oft the skin called the "tear zone." The scales regenerate quickly, in mere weeks.

It's also unusual among its relatives in that it seems to shed skin with extraordinary ease.

“I personally have only ever once managed to catch one of these geckos without losing more than a few scales,” says study author Mark Scherz, a Ph.D. student at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

“I was elated! You can look at any museum with these geckos and you see how seldom the [skin] stays intact. It’s almost ridiculous.”

Mistaken Identity

Indeed, in the late 19th century, scientists who first discovered this group of odd geckos in Madagascar had the same problem, describing how hard it was to catch tear-away geckos without losing a lot of scales. (In more recent times, researchers try to avoid direct contact altogether by luring them into bags.)

When the gecko loses its skin, it probably sees a humid shelter, Scherz adds. "I would imagine the geckos stay in such a shelter until the regeneration process is at least started, but I've never come across a gecko in the wild that still had exposed flesh from a previous encounter."

The numbers and patterns of scales are a central feature herpetologists use to identify and distinguish species from one another—part of the reason why it took so long to identify G. megalepis as a new species. Not only does the gecko look a lot like its relatives, it's also secretive and well camouflaged. For instance, researchers collected the first specimens of G. megalepis in 2004 in the craggy karst limestone terrain of Ankarana National Park, but the individuals were mistakenly lumped together with a similar looking species, G. maculata.

When genetic work in 2013 suggested as many as 12 distinct species of Geckolepis exist or once existed, Scherz decided to take a new approach to analyzing the geckos that didn't rely on outward appearance—observing their skeletal structures in sharp detail. 

Source: nationalgeographic.com

> For more pics, videos & articles visit: herpkeepers.com

[sundarsunya]

New Species of Fish-Scaled Gecko Can (Literally) Jump Out of Its Skin

The creature sloughs its skin when predators attack, leaving it looking like a raw chicken tender