Geckolepis

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Geckolepis
Geckolepis megalepis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Subfamily: Uroplatinae
Genus: Geckolepis
Grandidier, 1867[1]
Type species
Geckolepis typica
Grandidier, 1867[1]

Geckolepis is a

primary and secondary forest
, as well as degraded habitats. They are best known for their ability to lose their skin and scales when grasped by a predator.

Skin and scales

The scales of Geckolepis are imbricated (overlapping) and

Gekko gecko and Tarentola mauritanica.[5] They found that the osteoderms differ strongly from those of the other gecko species that possess them, and represent a third independent convergent derivation of osteoderm in geckos. The osteoderm of Geckolepis somewhat resembles that of the Gerrhosauridae
or 'plated lizards'.

The scales of Geckolepis were known to come off already in the 19th century; Alfred Voeltzkow in 1983 described capturing specimens with bundles of cotton to avoid the scales coming off.[6] Once lost, scales are regenerated, and eventually the regenerated scales are indistinguishable from original ones.[3][7] The mechanism for this scale autotomy and the subsequent regeneration is not well understood, but was studied by C. Schubert and colleagues.[8][7] These studies showed that it is not only the scales that are shed in the 'dermolytic autotomy' of Geckolepis, but rather, there is a preformed splitting zone between the integument and the underlying connective tissue. They also showed that the dermolytic process is an active one, wherein a network of myofibroblasts in the splitting zone probably contract, followed by vasoconstriction to minimise blood loss.[8] Their findings were questioned by Aaron M. Bauer and colleagues, but only based on comparative evidence from other geckos, which all have splitting zones within the integument, and not below it.[9][10] Indeed, no subsequent studies have yet looked at this mechanism again, but there have been repeated calls for such investigation, especially as the regenerative properties may have relevance for human medicine.[3][4]

Taxonomy

The genus Geckolepis has difficult taxonomy due to variable

G. humbloti from synonymy with G. maculata, as a species endemic to the Comoro Islands.[14] In 2017, Scherz et al. (2017) described G. megalepis from the limestone pinnacle karst formations of Ankarana National Park—this species has larger scales than all other members of the genus, but it was also identified based on its osteology.[3] The taxonomic identity of G. maculata remains uncertain.[3]

Species

The following five species are recognized:[14][15]

  • Peters's spotted gecko or fish-scale gecko, Geckolepis maculata Peters, 1880
  • Comoran fish scale gecko,
    Geckolepis humbloti
     Vaillant, 1887
  • Many-scaled gecko,
    Geckolepis polylepis
     Boettger, 1893
  • Grandidier's gecko,
    Geckolepis typica
     Grandidier, 1867
  • Geckolepis megalepis Scherz et al., 2017

References

  1. ^ a b Grandidier, Alfred (1867). "Liste des reptiles nouveaux découverts, en 1866, sur la côte sud-ouest de Madagascar". Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée. 2e série. 19: 233.
  2. ^ a b c Schmidt, W. J. (1911). Voeltzkow, Alfred (ed.). Beobachtungen an der Haut von Geckolepis und einigen anderen Geckoniden. Stuttgart, Germany: Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. pp. 331–352. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^
    PMID 28194313
    .
  4. ^
    S2CID 89821832
    .
  5. S2CID 206092685
    .
  6. ^ Voeltzkow, Alfred (1893). "Tägliches Leben eines Sammlers und Forschers auf Exkursionen in den Tropen". Bericht über die Senckenbergische naturforschende Gesellschaft. 1893: 43–50.
  7. ^ a b Schubert, C.; Steffen, T.; Christophers, E. (1990). "Weitere Beobachtungen zur "dermolytischen Schreckhäutung" bei Geckolepis typica (Reptilia, Gekkonidae)". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 224: 175–192.
  8. ^ a b Schubert, C.; Christophers, E. (1985). ""Dermolytische Schreckhäutung"—ein besonderes Autotomieverhalten von Geckolepis typica (Reptilia, Gekkonidae)". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 214: 129–141.
  9. doi:10.1242/jeb.145.1.79
    .
  10. doi:10.1080/08927014.1992.9523127
    .
  11. ^
    S2CID 84352604
    .
  12. ISBN 3-929449-01-3
    .
  13. S2CID 14059180
    .
  14. ^
    S2CID 14117469
    .
  15. ^ The Reptile Database.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geckolepis.
Wikispecies has information related to Geckolepis.
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