Crested Gecko Behaviour and Adaptations
The Crested Gecko, is a species of lizard found in New Caledonia, Isle of Pines and Islands of Grand Terre (Hamper, 2012). This species of geckos lives in a range of temperatures between 11.1-27.8°C with heavy rainfall usually found in a rainforest (up to 400cm of rainfall per year) (Brusso, 2013). Known for their crests (small spines connected to the top of the eyes and around the head and dorsal) (Hamper, 2012). See Figure 5 for an example of the crested geckos spines on a full sized adult male. Although Hamper (2012) states that Crested Geckos come under the genus Rhacodactylus, this is no longer true as in a recent phylogenetic analysis by Bauer et al., (2012) it has become apparent that Crested Geckos are not closely related to other Rhacodactylus geckos, so has therefore been moved back into the original group the gecko was initially determined to belong to, Correlophus.
This species comes equipped with a semi-prehensile tail for extra grip which is useful for their semi-aboreal orientation, alongside a multitude of other adaptations they have evolved towards over time (Badger, 2002). They are also capable of automoty of their tail if they feel threatened by predators, the tail will not grow back like some other species of lizard (Badger, 2002). As such their ability to drop their tail is only useful to them as a defense mechanism once. The pay off for this only being a one time defence mechanism, in comparison to that of the leopard gecko in which De Vosjoli, (1999) states that leopard geckos will regrow their tail at the cost of energy, is that they do not require their tail so no energy is wasted regrowing a new one. The tip of the tail is also covered in an extremely high amount of tiny keratinised setae, which gives it that sticky touch (Barlett, 2004). These setae can also be found on the feet of the gecko and gives them a great advantage over other animals when it comes to climbing (Barlett, 2004). A change occurs depending on the excitement and time of day for the crested gecko, with metachrosis occurring in the pigmentation of their skin, this is never a different colour change per se but more of a shade of colour change from lighter to darker and so forth (Barlett, 2004).
This species comes equipped with a semi-prehensile tail for extra grip which is useful for their semi-aboreal orientation, alongside a multitude of other adaptations they have evolved towards over time (Badger, 2002). They are also capable of automoty of their tail if they feel threatened by predators, the tail will not grow back like some other species of lizard (Badger, 2002). As such their ability to drop their tail is only useful to them as a defense mechanism once. The pay off for this only being a one time defence mechanism, in comparison to that of the leopard gecko in which De Vosjoli, (1999) states that leopard geckos will regrow their tail at the cost of energy, is that they do not require their tail so no energy is wasted regrowing a new one. The tip of the tail is also covered in an extremely high amount of tiny keratinised setae, which gives it that sticky touch (Barlett, 2004). These setae can also be found on the feet of the gecko and gives them a great advantage over other animals when it comes to climbing (Barlett, 2004). A change occurs depending on the excitement and time of day for the crested gecko, with metachrosis occurring in the pigmentation of their skin, this is never a different colour change per se but more of a shade of colour change from lighter to darker and so forth (Barlett, 2004).
The crested gecko is is a renowned jumper, with back legs structured with loose skin to add surface area for a better glide (Debanks, 2012). These geckos are arboreal in nature and have most likely developed their jumping ability due to their environment containing a high density of branches, and with them spending the majority of their time in the canopies, developing the capability to jump would have been beneficial to find food and for general locomotion (Hamper, 2012). Being an agile hunter is important as their diet consists of not only nectar and soft fruits but also small insects found in the canopies (De Vosjoli, 2012).
Nocturnal in nature, this species have developed eyes sensitive to light known as Gehyra pupils, these pupils allow in much more light than that of a diurnal animal however the down side to this is a shorter viewing distance (Roth and Kelber, 2004). They have also developed an auditory defence mechanism in which they use a high pitched chirp to scare predators, a similar chirping sound is also used to call for a mate during breeding season (Badger, 2002) They are also capable of raising the back and gaping their mouth to appear bigger to ward off potential threats (De Vosjoli, 2012).
Females produce 2 eggs every 4-6 weeks, this is a relatively low clutch of eggs which means the loss of offspring is a large potential threat (De Vosjoli, 2012). Though the following should be considered; hatchlings are born precocial like most reptiles species and the mother includes a high amount of nutrients to their eggs leading to a higher hatch rate and stronger offspring (Brusso, 2013). They’re mating system is also polygynous which is most likely why males mature to breeding age earlier than females, as with this breeding method in mind there should be a higher female population than male population (Brusso, 2013
Nocturnal in nature, this species have developed eyes sensitive to light known as Gehyra pupils, these pupils allow in much more light than that of a diurnal animal however the down side to this is a shorter viewing distance (Roth and Kelber, 2004). They have also developed an auditory defence mechanism in which they use a high pitched chirp to scare predators, a similar chirping sound is also used to call for a mate during breeding season (Badger, 2002) They are also capable of raising the back and gaping their mouth to appear bigger to ward off potential threats (De Vosjoli, 2012).
Females produce 2 eggs every 4-6 weeks, this is a relatively low clutch of eggs which means the loss of offspring is a large potential threat (De Vosjoli, 2012). Though the following should be considered; hatchlings are born precocial like most reptiles species and the mother includes a high amount of nutrients to their eggs leading to a higher hatch rate and stronger offspring (Brusso, 2013). They’re mating system is also polygynous which is most likely why males mature to breeding age earlier than females, as with this breeding method in mind there should be a higher female population than male population (Brusso, 2013
Crested Gecko Classification
Crested geckos come from the classification Reptilia, this classification contains all species of reptiles including turtles, snakes and lizards (Brusso, 2014). Crested Gecko’s fit into the family Gekkonidae due to their physical attributes such as Gehyra pupils and setae coating the bottom of their toes (Henie, 1994).