Geckos thrive in warm, dry climates and feel very much at home in deserts. More than 100 species live on the Australian mainland, but there are only a few in southern Australia and none in cooler areas like Tasmania and south eastern Victoria. Most geckos hide under rocks and in burrows during the day, then come out around dusk to hunt winged termites, spiders, scorpions, insects and even smaller geckos. They don’t have eyelids. Instead, a clear scale protects the eyes and reduces water loss, and they use their tongues as windscreen wipers!
New discovery
You may have wondered how geckos manage to cling so effortlessly to smooth vertical surfaces. A team of scientists from the University of California Berkeley has discovered that the feet of some geckos are lined with millions of microscopic hairs, called setae. At the tip of each hair there are thousands of pads called spatulae, which are only a few millionths of a centimetre across. The geckos manage to defy gravity when molecules on their spatulae are attracted to the molecules on the surface of the wall or ceiling. If researchers are able to replicate these subatomic molecular forces they may be able to develop new adhesives that could be used underwater or in space.
Further information
Our segment was filmed at:
Taronga Zoo
Bradleys Head Road
Mosman, NSW, 2088
Phone: (02) 9969 2777