Source: Science and Technology Daily
◎ Li Di Chen Ke
Recently, a study published in the internationally renowned amphibian and reptile journal "Asian Amphibian and Reptile Research" said that a gecko species with the highest known distribution at the highest altitude (2476 meters) was found in the Jinsha River basin.
"This species appears in the dry and hot valley of the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan in the middle of the Jinsha River and belongs to the multi-warty gecko species group of the gecko genus, so we named it the Jinjiang gecko." Xie Feng, a member of the amphibian and reptile research team at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
Jinjiang gecko. Image source: Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences official website Shi Shengchao / photo
The "Curious Cat" was the first to spot the Jinjiang gecko
Located in the mountains of southwest China, the Jinsha River Basin is one of the hotspots of biodiversity and one of the most concentrated and vulnerable areas of forest ecosystems in the Yangtze River Basin.
From 2019 to 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment commissioned the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences to organize and carry out amphibian and reptile survey projects in the priority areas of biodiversity conservation in the southern section of Hengduan Mountain. Led by Researcher Xie Feng of the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a team was conducted for a two-year survey in the Shaluli Mountain area.
"The Jinjiang gecko mainly inhabits the stone crevices, abandoned houses and bush edges on the slopes of the mountain, and it is also an accident and interesting thing to find that it is distributed in this area." Xie Feng recalled that during the investigation, the team came to the southern part of Batang County in Sichuan Province, used the atlas to visit local Tibetan villagers, and when investigating amphibian and reptile clues, the villagers suddenly appeared very interested in the pictures of geckos. It turned out that the "curious cat" who had always caught only fish and birds also launched a strong pursuit of geckos in his hometown.
Habitat of the Gecko. Image source: Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences official website Shi Shengchao / photo
The curious cat grabbed the gecko as a "toy", which attracted the attention of the expedition team. Subsequently, the team found several geckos on the rock wall of the stream in front of the nighttime hometown, and later found several individuals in Derong County. Around the same time, a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau expedition led by researcher Jiang Jianping also found the gecko in the Jinsha River Valley in Deqin, Yunnan.
"Species of the genus Geckos generally live in tropical or subtropical regions. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has a lower temperature and lower oxygen content, and the reason why the Jinjiang gecko is distributed in this high-altitude area is because the dry and hot river valleys provide better temperature conditions. Xie Feng said that compared with geckos species in low altitude areas, Jinjiang geckos will have some differences in morphology.
According to reports, the Jinjiang gecko is relatively small in the entire gecko genus; the male gecko of the closely related species has more anterior foramen, but the jinjiang gecko has few anterior foramen; previous studies have found that species of the gecko genus breed in a hot environment, which will lead to the breeding offspring being more female, while the Jinjiang gecko belongs to the population of serious females (the male-male ratio is about 3:1). Since the juveniles born that year have been seen in August this year, it is speculated that the breeding period is from May to June.
It provides clues to confirm the northward shift trend of heat-loving species under climate change
Studies have shown that phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial ND2 gene fragments shows that the Jinjiang gecko is an independent evolutionary branch and is a sister group with the rough wart gecko. The genetic differentiation between jinjiang geckos and coarse warty geckos was remarkable, and the genetic distance of ND2 was 9.9% to 12.2%.
Xie Feng pointed out that the discovery of the Gecko in Jinjiang is very significant, providing an important model for studying the radiative spread of geckos species distributed in the tropics and subtropics to high altitudes, and providing clues for confirming the possible route of the northward shift trend of some heat-loving species under global climate change.
The genus belongs to the reptile, lepidic lizard suborder, gecko family, mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia and western Oceania. It is mainly distributed in subtropical and tropical areas south of the Qinling Mountains, and there are fewer species in the north. According to the existing literature statistics, there are currently 77 species of geckos, and there are 19 species distributed in China, of which 12 species are endemic.
Jinjiang gecko orthographic model specimen. Image source: Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences official website Shi Shengchao / photo
It is often said that geckos are "tigers that climb walls". Compared with the average lizard, the gecko has valves under its fingers and some villi, which will increase its ability to climb. Therefore, it can be very good to climb on the wall, and the climbing ability is stronger.
"The average lizard mainly relies on grasp to stand on branches or rough stone walls, while geckos rely on the molecular suction generated by the bristles on the flap under the toes (van der Waal force), which can stand on smooth walls; geckos are nocturnal animals with large eyes and pupils; geckos can protect themselves by breaking their tails when avoiding predators, so the gecko genus has always been an important research object in the field of biological regeneration." Xie Feng introduced.
In childhood memories, geckos are often "visitors" in the home, and they quickly disappear whenever they are found. In fact, the gecko is a temperature-changing animal, and it can only run faster under high temperature conditions, while it runs slower under low temperature conditions. In addition, the gecko will wait for food, and it will only prey quickly when the food is within its attack range; it will be faster when dodging predators.