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Distribution of Gekkonidae
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- Taxonomy
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- Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Subclass: Lepidosauria
- Order: Squamata
- Suborder: Sauria
- Infraorder: Gekkota
- Family: Gekkonidae
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- I. Introduction
Geckonidae is the second largest lizard family with about 930
species, they are found on every continent except Antarctica. There are 5
subfamilies.
Geckos do not vary much in colour, most are well-camouflaged shades of brown or gray, but there are a few brightly coloured species. Most geckos are rather nondescript, few have crests, frills, casques or spines.
Scales are usually small and mostly uniform, giving the skin a soft texture. Some species have
tubercles. Most have a
laterally compressed body, but the tail varies in size, shape and adornment and is always fragile. The limbs are rather fragile, and there are adhesive
lamellae on most species, and toes vary in size and shape. The eyes are large relative to body size, and the majority of geckos have fused spectacles as eyelids (brilles). Ears have external openings. The tongue is slightly notched, short and broad. The teeth are pointed and cylindrical, a few species have blunted crowns.
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- II. Members
Subfamilies:
Aeluroscalabotinae (one species, the cat gecko), Eublepharinae (the true eyelid geckos), Gekkoninae (the true geckos), Teratoscincinae (the frog-eyed geckos), and Diplodactylinae (the Southwest Pacific geckos).
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- III. Further Information
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Last modified: Saturday, April 29, 2006
Sources:
- "EMBL Reptile Database." 2005. European Molecular Biology Laboratory. <http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/~uetz/LivingReptiles.html>
- Halliday, T and K. Adler. 2002. Firefly Encylopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Firefly Books, Ltd.
- RELATED LINKS
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