''Uroplatus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and its coastal

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s, such as

Nosy Be Nosy Be (formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be) is an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist resort. It has an area of , and its population was 109,465 according to the provisional results of ...

. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary and secondary forest.

Etymology

The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name, ''Uroplatus'', is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ization of two

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words: "ourá" (οὐρά) meaning "tail" and "platys" (πλατύς) meaning "flat".

Description

Geckos of the genus ''Uroplatus'' are nocturnal and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

. They range in total length (including tail) from about for ''U. giganteus'' to for ''U. ebenaui''. Larger species of ''Uroplatus'' are distinguished among geckos in having the largest number of marginal teeth among all living amniotes. Other rare apomorphic character states include multiple inscriptional ribs, restriction of autotomy planes, and finger-like diverticula of the lungs. Uroplatus phantasticus skull1

All ''Uroplatus'' species have highly cryptic colouration, which acts as

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

, most being grayish-brown to black or greenish-brown with various markings resembling

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

bark. There are two variations of this camouflage: leaf form, and bark form. The leaf form is present in a number of small-bodied species. All other forms blend in well with tree bark upon which they rest during the day. Some of these tree bark forms have developed a flap of skin, running the length of the body, known as a "dermal flap", which they lay against the tree during the day, scattering shadows, and making their outline practically invisible. These geckos bear a resemblance to geckos of the genera ''

Phyllurus ''Phyllurus'' is a small genus of Australian leaf-tailed geckos, lizards in the family Carphodactylidae. Rarely seen outside their native habitat, they are notable for their highly effective camouflage which is in part aided by the spiny tubercle ...

'' and ''

Saltuarius ''Saltuarius'' is a genus of larger Australian geckos, known collectively as leaf-tailed geckos. The genus was created in 1993 to accommodate some former members of the genus ''Phyllurus''. These geckos appear very similar to the ''Uroplatus'' g ...

'' of Australia. This is an example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

. The skull of ''Uroplatus'' is strongly ossified, with an extremely high tooth count and incipient secondary palate.

Ecology

Gekkoninae Uroplatus sikorae camouflage horiz

''Uroplatus'' geckos are exclusively nocturnal. The larger species spend most of the daylight hours hanging vertically on tree trunks, head down, resting, while the smaller leaf tailed geckos (''U. phantasticus'', ''U. ebenaui'', ''U. finiavana'', ''U. malama'', ''U. fiera'', ''U. fotsivava'', and ''U. kelirambo'') spend more time in bushes and small trees imitating twigs and leaves. They are all insectivores. During their breeding season, female ''Uroplatus'' lay from 2–4 eggs depending on species and conditions.

Captivity

''Uroplatus'' are found in the herpetology and

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

trade, but rarely. Most are threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

and habitat loss. The difficulty in diagnosing between species has led to accidental exportation of both threatened and undescribed species.

Threats

Habitat destruction and

deforestation in Madagascar Deforestation in Madagascar is an ongoing environmental issue. Deforestation creates agricultural or pastoral land but can also result in desertification, water resource degradation, biodiversity erosion and habitat loss, and soil loss. It has ...

is the primary threat to the future of ''Uroplatus'' geckos as well as collection for the pet trade. The

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(WWF) lists all of the ''Uroplatus'' species on their "Top ten most wanted species list" of animals threatened by illegal

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...

, because of it "being captured and sold at alarming rates for the international pet trade". It is a

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

Appendix 2 protected animal.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Uroplatus'' has had a complex taxonomic history. A detailed study from 2013 suggested there were at least 11 undescribed cryptic species in the genus, several of which have been described since its publication.

Species

The following 21 species are recognised. *'' Uroplatus alluaudi'' Mocquard, 1894 – northern leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus ebenaui'' ( Boettger, 1879) – spearpoint leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus fangorn'' Ratsoavina, Ranjanaharisoa, Glaw, Raselimanana, Rakotoarison, Vieites, Hawlitschek, Vences, & Scherz, 2020 *'' Uroplatus fetsy'' Ratsoavina, Scherz, Tolley, Raselimanana, Glaw & Vences, 2019 *'' Uroplatus fiera'' Ratsoavina, Ranjanaharisoa, Glaw, Raselimanana, Miralles & Vences, 2015 *''

Uroplatus fimbriatus The common flat-tail gecko (''Uroplatus fimbriatus'') is a gecko endemic to Madagascar. It is found in eastern Madagascar and on the islands Nosy Bohara and Nosy Mangabe. These geckos live in tropical rain forests. They reach a total length o ...

'' ( Schneider, 1797) – common leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus finaritra'' Ratsoavina, Raselimanana, Scherz, Rakotoarison, Razafindraibe, Glaw & Vences, 2019 *'' Uroplatus finiavana'' Ratsoavina, Louis, Crottini, Randrianiaina, Glaw & Vences, 2011 *'' Uroplatus fivehy'' Ratsoavina, Ranjanaharisoa, Glaw, Raselimanana, Rakotoarison, Vieites, Hawlitschek, Vences, & Scherz, 2020 *'' Uroplatus fotsivava'' Ratsoavina, Gehring, Scherz, Vieites, Glaw & Vences, 2017 *'' Uroplatus giganteus'' Glaw, Kosuch, Henkel, Sound & , 2006 – giant leaf-tail gecko *''

Uroplatus guentheri ''Uroplatus'' is a genus of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary ...

'' Mocquard, 1908 – Günther's leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus henkeli'' Böhme & Ibisch, 1990 – frilled leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus kelirambo'' Ratsoavina, Gehring, Scherz, Vieites, Glaw & Vences, 2017 *'' Uroplatus lineatus'' ( A.M.C. Duméril &

Bibron Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hir ...

, 1836) – lined leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus malahelo'' Nussbaum & , 1994 *'' Uroplatus malama'' Nussbaum & Raxworthy, 1995 *'' Uroplatus phantasticus'' ( Boulenger, 1888) – satanic leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus pietschmanni'' Böhle & Schönecker, 2003 – cork-bark leaf-tail gecko *'' Uroplatus sameiti'' Böhme & Ibisch, 1990 *''

Uroplatus sikorae ''Uroplatus sikorae'', commonly referred to as the mossy leaf-tailed gecko or the southern flat-tail gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. It is a CITES II protected animal due to habitat ...

'' ( Boettger, 1913) – mossy leaf-tail gecko ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Uroplatus''.

References

External links

* et al. (2011). "A new leaf tailed gecko species from northern Madagascar with a preliminary assessment of molecular and morphological variability in the ''Uroplatus ebenaui'' group". ''Zootaxa'' 3022: 39–57
Preview''Uroplatus'' geckos
photo pool at Flickr, including these two pictures of the animal resting on tree trunks

an
Uroplatus Information Centre
containing details on taxonomy, morphology, ecology, and captive care of ''Uroplatus'' species.
Watch more flat-tailed gecko (''Uroplatus'') video clips from the BBC archive on Wildlife FinderUnique video detailing typical satanic leaf tailed gecko chasing behaviour
{{Taxonbar, from=Q882271 Uroplatus, Lizard genera Geckos of Africa Endemic fauna of Madagascar Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril