National Geographic Museum
1145 17th Street NW
Washington, D.C., US
20036
Telephone: +1 202 857 7588
NatGeoMuseum@ngs.org
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This giant gecko has a flat tail that resembles a broad, green leaf. Found in Madagascar, it is a remote island dweller.
Fast Facts:
Size: Up to 12 inches long!
Habitat: Large rainforest leaves
Eats: Insects and snails
Have you added to our Flickr pool? Share your cool images from the exhibit like these visitors have done!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1523566@N21/
Have you heard about Reading Time? It’s the perfect excuse to come to the Museum, chill out on a bean bag chair and be entertained!
Join Museum staff for Reading Time in Geckos: Tails to Toepads each Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. Pull up a gecko bean bag chair and enjoy a Balinese or Hawaiian folk tale featuring the various gecko species on view. After hearing the story discuss the plot, theme, and characters with other visitors. A different book will be featured every day.
Books this month include:
__Gecko Gathering by Vanessa Giancamilli
__Counting Little Geckos by Charline Profiri
__Baby Gecko’s Colors by Neecy Twinem
__Cuidemos a Neustro Geco Leopardo Nuevo by Alejandro Algarra
__Surf Gecko to the Rescue! By Bruce Hale
__Keeko the Gecko by Emmalene Stockton
__Go to Sleep Gecko! A Balinese Folktale by Margaret R. McDonald
__Gecko & Mosquito by Melissa Desica
__The Legend of the Laughing Gecko: A Hawaiian Fantasy by Bruce Hale
__Geckos by Sally Velthaus
__Gecko Hide & Seek: A Counting Book from Hawaii by Gill McBarnet
__The Gecko Who Wanted to Be Different by Dorothy S. Saurer
__How the Gecko Lost His Tail by Bruce Hale
__Kama’aina Gecko by Ed Freiler (Island Heritage)
__Geckos Complaint by Ann Martin Bowier
__The Goodnight Gecko by Gill McBarnet
__G is for Gecko by Don Robinson
Image from Discover.com
Geckos of the genus Ptychozoon are adapted to a gliding lifestyle, having evolved large webbed feet, lateral skin flaps along the body, and a broad flattened tail. The Smooth-backed Gliding Gecko is mainly nocturnal, but can be found resting on tree trunks by day. It prefers areas of primary forest, and less disturbed secondary forest.
This species can be is distinguished from other gliding geckos by the tail lappets which point slightly backward, and by the less intense patterning.
It ranges from Burma to Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.
So what happens when geckos fall….?
Even if the geckos did fall off (or indeed, if they jumped), they always managed to land on their feet (video) with an accuracy usually attributed to cats. But unlike cats, which twist their spine to reorient themselves, the geckos kept their body completely stiff in the majority of falls. Again, the tail was the key. Tailless geckos, which were more likely to fall in the first place, only managed to rotate about halfway before they hit the ground.
Once airborne, the gecko spread its legs out and whirled its large, fatty tail around to rotate its body the right way up. If the gecko spun too far, it could right itself again by rotating its tail in the opposite direction. Once it was face-down, it could use flanges of skin between its toes and on its sides as parachutes to slow its fall and glide to the ground, a trick that’s also used by the so-called ‘flying gecko‘. The whole process is over within a tenth of a second, far faster than a cat or for that matter, any recorded animal without wings.
Source: http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/lizards/smooth-backed_gliding_gecko.htm,
This animal is known for it’s unique distinct chirp. Listen and see if you can guess which kind of gecko it is. Answer below in the comments section!
Not to worry, catch this and other great shorts on our YouTube channel.
Found at Geekus Maximus
The Chinese Cave Geckos is a unique gecko, about whom very little is known. The geckos which is only 8-9 inches is a nocturnal creature that often lives near the mouths of caves.
Quick facts:
1.) They have red eyes (no one knows why!)
2.) They live in Northeastern Vietnam.
3.) They eat cockroaches and other animals attracted to bat guano.
A few denizens of this breed can be found at the exhibition. Come check them out!
Talking Plants: A Wild Music Family Workshop
Saturday, November 20
2-4pm
Free, pre-registration required
Join Dr. Philip Blackburn, an environmental sound artist and composer, in a romp through the nature of music and music of nature. This hands-on, voice-on workshop uses music and listening practices to reconnect us with the living sounds around and within us. Activities include getting a plant to talk, listening to swamp-inspired music, instrument making, and participating in a dawn bird chorus.
Check out a video of Blackburn’s “talking plant.”
Blackburn composed the ambient soundtrack for the exhibition Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life, open at the Museum through January 2, 2011. Be sure to plan a visit to the exhibition before or after attending the workshop.
Pre-registration is required. To register, email NatGeoMuseum[at]ngs.org or call +1 202 857 7154. Registration closes on November 15 and space is limited.
Our thanks to GEICO for their support of Geckos: Tails to Toepads and of “Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr” on National Geographic Channel.
Question: Geckos can communicate by chirping or barking. Listen. Can you identify this creature? Answer below in the comment section.
