A global team of scientists has identified and named a new species of leaf-tailed gecko in northern Madagascar - Uroplatus garamaso. Leaf-tailed geckos are masters of disguise. Some species have skin flaps all over the body and head, as well as flat tails. During the day, they lie head down on tree trunks, spreading their skin flaps and blending in with their surroundings, making themselves almost invisible. As night falls, they become active, weaving among the slender branches of the forest understory in search of invertebrate prey.
The master type (representative specimen) of Uroplatusgaramaso displays the striking tail and body coloration of this new species. Source: Dr. Mark D. Scherz, Natural History Museum of Denmark
Dr. Frank Glaw, curator of reptiles at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology and first author of the study, said: "When we first discovered this species in 2000, we already suspected that it might be new to science. It took us many years to accumulate enough information to confidently describe it as a new species."
Leaf-tailed geckos are great jumpers and tend to bring their arms and legs together before leaping. Image credit: Dr. Jörn Köhler, Hessian State Museum, Darmstadt, Germany
The research team collected data on the species' genetics, morphology and distribution. They conducted multiple expeditions to northern Madagascar, expanding their knowledge of this new species. The findings were recently published in the open-access scientific journal Salamandra.
During the day, Uroplatusgaramaso hides on the tree trunk, head down, hind limbs extended, tassels clinging to the bark, making it almost impossible to detect. Here, geckos are viewed directly as one might (not) find them in the forest. Source: Dr. Mark D. Scherz, Natural History Museum of Denmark
One challenge in the research effort is that Uroplatusgaramaso is very similar to another species, Uroplatushenkeli, and has been confused with it in the past. Dr. Jörn Köhler from the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt explains: "This is very common among reptiles in Madagascar. There are many of these so-called 'cryptospecies' awaiting classification."
Leaf-tailed geckos are masters of disguise, and Uroplatus garamaso is the best among them. Here, the gecko is hiding on the right side of the tree trunk. Image source: Dr. Mark D. Scherz, Natural History Museum of Denmark
Through careful analysis, the authors discovered some distinguishing characteristics of the two geckos. Dr. Philip-Sebastian Gehring from the University of Bielefeld in Germany said: "The real key is that we found that the tip of the tongue of U. henkeli is black, while the tip of the tongue of U. garamaso is pink. The new species has a body length of 20 centimeters, which is slightly smaller than U. henkeli and has a narrower tail."
Dr Fanomezana Ratsoavina of the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar, who studied leaf-tailed geckos, said: "This new species is the latest in a series of new Uroplatus geckos described in Madagascar over the past few years."
Here we reveal where geckos hide. Image source: Dr. Mark D. Scherz, Natural History Museum of Denmark
Dr. Mark Scherz, Curator of Reptiles at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said: "We are close to completing the taxonomic catalog of this genus, but this is only the beginning of our understanding of its evolution and ecology. The color of the bill is very useful for identifying different species, but its function is completely unknown. There is still a lot we don't know about these geckos, from their wider evolutionary relationships to their behavior."
Uroplatusgaramaso's unusual eyes help distinguish it from the closely related species the leaf-tailed gecko. Image credit: Dr. Jörn Köhler, Hessian State Museum, Darmstadt, Germany