Grey Satan leaf-tailed gecko
Demon flat-tailed leaf lizard, also known as: Satan leaf-tailed gecko. It is about 6 to 9 cm long, weighs about 10 to 28 grams, has a lifespan of about 3 to 5 years, and is a carnivorous animal that lives in the mountainous rainforests of eastern Madagascar, Africa. It's a gentle reptile, though its name sounds intimidating. In fact, it prefers to sleep quietly in the forests of Madagascar. It evolved an extreme camouflage: it turned into a dead leaf.
Madagascar is a comfortable home for the nocturnal activity of the demon flat-tailed leaf lizard, which hangs motionlessly from branches of the rainforest during the day. At night, its diet includes crickets, flies, spiders, cockroaches and snails. This lizard is known for its striking resemblance to dried leaves, which helps it camouflage during the day to avoid predators and hide at night to ambush prey. The demon flat-tailed leaf lizard will take an aggressive posture when threatened, such as opening its mouth and making a loud cry to resist the threat.
Orange Satan leaf-tailed gecko
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > species description</h1>
The devil flat-tailed leaf lizard is one of 13 species of gecko lizards of the genus Gecko found on the island of Madagascar in the 17th century. The 13 species are divided into several groups according to the vegetation they imitate. The Satan leaf-tailed gecko belongs to the Harpoon leaf-tailed gecko group, which consists of 3 members, including the Maha leaf-tailed gecko and the dead-leaf flat-tailed gecko. All 3 members look like dead leaves.
All leaf-tailed geckos have long, flattened bodies and triangular heads. This demonic flat-tailed lizard has a mottled color of gray, brown, or orange, the same color as decaying or withered leaves in its natural environment. The body of the demon flat-tailed leaf lizard is curved, like the edges of a leaf, and its skin has lines similar to the veins of a leaf. But the most striking camouflage of the leaf-tailed gecko is undoubtedly its tail, the longest and widest of all the leaf-leaved geckos. Not only are their tails shaped and colored like leaves, but they also have dents, frills and imperfections, more like dead leaves that have been gnawed by insects.
Compared to other species, this demon flat-tailed lizard is small, including the tail, and is between 6 and 9 centimeters long.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > distribution and habitat</h1>
The demon flat-tailed leaf lizard, which lives only in the mountain rainforests of two-thirds of eastern Madagascar, has been found at the base of the tree disguised as a deciduous layer, about 1.8 meters high on the trunk. Madagascar is an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, where forests are known for their unique wildlife, home to lemurs, dens and hissing cockroaches, and the only known habitat in the world for the demon flat-tailed lizard.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="61" > diet and habits</h1>
The demon flat-tailed lizard rests all day, but as soon as the sun goes down, it begins to forage around. Its large eyelid-less eyes were built to spot prey in the dark. Like other lizards, this gecko is thought to feed on anything it can catch and put in its mouth, from crickets to spiders. However, there is very little research on the native environment of demon flat-tailed lizards, so we can't be sure what else they eat.
The demon flat-tailed leaf lizard does not rely on passive camouflage to protect itself, and it also acts like a leaf when resting. When the demon flat-tailed leaf lizard sleeps, its body lies flat on a tree trunk or branch, with its head facing down and its multi-leafed tail facing upwards. If needed, it twists its body to accentuate the leaf-like edges, helping itself to blend in.
Its ability to change color is limited, and when camouflage fails, it cocks its tail, raises its head, opens its mouth to reveal a bright orange-red interior, and sometimes even emits a loud distress signal.
The gray Satan leaf-tailed gecko sleeps on the trunk of a tree
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > reproduction and offspring</h1>
In Madagascar, the lizard's homeland, the beginning of the rainy season also marks the beginning of the lizard breeding season. When sexually mature, the male demon flat-tailed leaf lizard has a bulge at the base of its tail, while the female does not. The female is egg-laying, which means that she lays her eggs and the larvae are fully developed outside of her body.
Female demon flat-tailed leaf lizards lay 2 to 3 spherical eggs in the deciduous nests of the ground or in the dead leaves of plants. This allows the juveniles to hide when they appear after 95 days. It may have 2 to 3 children a year. Little is known about this mysterious animal, but it is known that it was the mother who kept the eggs for herself to hatch.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > protection status and threats</h1>
While the demon flat-tailed lizard is listed as the least concerned species by the International Union for conservation of nature and natural resources, this unusual lizard may soon be in danger. The forests of Madagascar are degrading at an alarming rate. There is also a great demand for exotic pet lovers to collect and export this pet. It is currently illegal to sell and keep such pets, but the numbers are likely to continue to decrease.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summary</h1>
Few lizards can adapt so incredibly to changes in their environment, look exactly like a leaf, and be a demonic leaf! This gecko looks like dry leaves on the forest floor, or even dried leaves between branches, like textured skin and grooves that have been bitten by insects.
The plant is endemic to Madagascar, which relies on this striking resemblance to dead leaves to evade predator discovery. To complete the masquerade, the evil leaf-tailed gecko will even hang from the branches that look like leaves curled down from the stems.
Brown Satan leaf-tailed geckos