''Uroplatus sikorae'', commonly referred to as the mossy leaf-tailed gecko or the southern flat-tail gecko, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 64 genera. Members of the Gekkonidae comprise many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), tokay ge ...

. The species is

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 elsew ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

II protected animal due to habitat loss.

Etymology

The specific name, ''sikorae'', is a Latinization of the surname of , an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n fossil-hunter and explorer of Madagascar.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by German

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Oskar Boettger Oskar Boettger (german: Böttger; 31 March 1844 – 25 September 1910) was a German zoologist who was a native of Frankfurt am Main. He was an uncle of the noted malacologist Caesar Rudolf Boettger (1888–1976). From 1863 to 1866 he studied at ...

but not published until three years after his death. Boettger O (1913). "''Reptilien und Amphibien von Madagascar, den Inseln und dem Festland Ostafrikas'' ". pp. 269–375. ''In'': Voeltzkow A (1913). ''Reise in Ostafrika in den Jahren 1903–1905. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse. Band III'' olume 3 ''Systematische Arbeiten''. Stuttgart: ''E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Nägele & Dr. Sproesser''. ("''Uroplates'' ic''sikorae''", new species, pp. 294–295 + Plate 26, figure 2). Its common name refers to the mossy-like camouflage patterns and colors of the lizard's skin. The whole complex of ''U. sikorae'' is in need of taxonomic revision and probably contains numerous new, undescribed species. The genus ''Uroplatus'' contains 14 species endemic to

. The species ''

Uroplatus sameiti ''Uroplatus sameiti'' is a species of Uroplatus, leaf-tailed gecko. Like all members of the genus ''Uroplatus'', ''U. sameiti'' is endemism, endemic to Madagascar, and is found in Old growth forest, primary and Secondary forest, secondary f ...

'' was considered to be a subspecies of ''U. sikorae'' until 2007, when it was proposed to be elevated to species level on the basis of its pale oral

mucosa A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...

, in contrast to the dark oral mucosa of ''U. sikorae''. Subsequent publications have maintained this separate status, which has now also been verified molecularly. However, in the most recent review of the taxonomy of the genus ''Uroplatus'', it was revealed that the different colour of the mouth is not diagnostic of these two species, as some ''U. sikorae'' species were found to share the light oral pigmentation. The diagnosis of these species based on morphology remains difficult. Phylogenically, ''U. sikorae'' has been placed within a monophyletic complex consisting of three other species of ''Uroplatus'': '' U. fimbriatus, U. giganteus, U. henkeli'', and U. sameiti. This complex represents the larger species of the genus.

Distribution and habitat

''Uroplatus sikorae'' is

. These geckos can be found in

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

forests of the Eastern and central

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...

s of Madagascar.

Description

The mossy leaf-tailed gecko ranges in size from when measured from nose to base of the tail. Their eyes are large and lidless, and have yellow

sclera The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective, outer layer of the human eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber. In humans, and som ...

with elliptical pupils, suited for the gecko's nocturnal habits. As with all ''Uroplatus'' geckos, the tail is dorso-ventrally flattened. ''U. sikorae'' has coloration developed 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 ...

, most being grayish brown to black or greenish brown with various markings meant to resemble

tree bark Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and cons ...

, down to the

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

found on the bark. ''U. sikorae'' has flaps of skin, running the length of its body, head and limbs, known as the ''dermal flap'', which it can lay against the tree during the day, scattering shadows, and making its outline practically invisible. Additionally, the gecko has a limited ability to alter its skin color to match its surroundings. Uroplatus Sikorae Analamazaotra Forest Madagascar.jpg, Analamazaotra Forest Reserve, Anadasibe Gekkonidae - Uroplatus sikorae.JPG, unknown location, appears to be undescribed species/subspecies Mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae) Montagne d’Ambre 2.jpg, hidden on branch, Montagne d’Ambre Mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae) Montagne d’Ambre 3.jpg, revealing itself, Montagne d’Ambre

Biology and behavior

Mossy leaf-tailed geckos are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, 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. Th ...

. These geckos rely on their natural

as they dwell among the trees. They spend most of the daylight hours hanging vertically on tree trunks, head down, resting. During the night, they will venture from their daylight resting spots, and go off in search of prey. It has the ability to change its skin color to match its surroundings and possesses

dermal The dermis or corium is a layer of skin between the epidermis (with which it makes up the cutis) and subcutaneous tissues, that primarily consists of dense irregular connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. It is divided ...

flaps which break up its outline when at rest. Mossy leaf-tailed geckos are

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

s eating insects, arthropods, and gastropods.

Captivity

The mossy leaf-tailed gecko is uncommon in captivity and often kept in breeding pairs or trios. They eat a variety of appropriately sized

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s including

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s. If breeding is successful in captivity, eggs will be laid every 30 days and take 90 days to hatch.

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 b ...

is the primary threat to this animal's future 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 them "being captured and sold at alarming rates for the international pet trade". It is a

Appendix 2 protected animal.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2384229 sikorae Geckos of Africa Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles of Madagascar Reptiles described in 1913 Taxa named by Oskar Boettger