Something Fishy is Going On

Geckolepis is a unique genus of arboreal, nocturnal geckos found only in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. Sometimes referred to as ‘fish scale geckos’ they have the largest scales of any gecko and their iridescent hue reinforces their “fishy” look. However, their most unusual feature is their ability to completely lose parts of their skin and scales to avoid a predator. The large scales of Geckolepis are attached by a narrow piece of skin that has a subdermal ‘splitting zone’ which when grasped by a predator, leaves the attacker with a mouth full of scales and the gecko looking like a raw chicken breast. The lizard is able to lose most of the scales on its body with no obvious adverse effect. In fact, these scales grow back in just a few weeks. The new scales are almost indistinguishable from the old ones and providing the gecko does not encounter another predator while it’s exposed, it should live to see another day (and repeat the process once again).

There are several other genera of geckos that can lose scales to evade predators, but this is often very costly to the animal and will leave scarring. Geckolepis are thought to shed their scales almost immediately if touched by a would-be predator. Although this bizarre defence strategy has been known to science for over 100 years, herpetologists are only just beginning to understand the diversity of Geckolepis species across northern Madagascar.

Geckolepis maculata

Credit: Reptiles4All/shutterstock.com