#strophurus

[herpsandbirds]

Striped Phasmid Gecko (Strophurus taeniatus), family Diplodactylidae, Australia

photographs by Brother-Nature

[chaobunnyarts]

Tiny geckos [4/4] + Phylogenetic Tree

25 - Lined Gecko (Gekko vittatus) 26 - Northern spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus ciliaris) 27 - Three-lined knob-tailed gecko (Nephrurus levis) 28 - Common flat-tail gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) 29 - Geckolepis megalepis, a species of fish-scale gecko 30 - Virgin Islands dwarf sphaero (Sphaerodactylus parthenopion) 31 - Delcourt's giant gecko (Hoplodactylus delcourti)

[typhlonectes]

This Gecko Shoots the Most Disgusting Liquid Out of Its Tail

Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus taenicauda)

This little guy may look like your standard gecko with his big, ruby-like eyes and spotted scales. However, this particular gecko, known as the golden-tailed gecko, is anything but standard. What makes this reptile unique is its ability to shoot a sticky, foul-smelling fluid from its tail. So what's the purpose of this ability? Why are its spines important? And is the liquid toxic to humans and animals?

via: Crazy Creatures

photograph by Dave Fleming 

[nixieofthenorth]

Northern Spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus ciliaris) 📸 @clancy_wildlife

[deliciouslydark]

Strophurus williamsi, known commonly as the Eastern Spiny-tailed Gecko, the Soft-spined Gecko, and Williams' Spiny-tailed Gecko.

[poondragoon]

There are also geckos of the genus Strophurus!

They shoot a malodorous, sticky liquid from pores in the dorsal surface of their tail to defend themselves from predators, which is pretty kickass in and of itself. What makes it pure spec evo fodder, though, is the fact that this defense-goo becomes flammable when mixed with ammonia. Throw in some kinda oxygen-catalyzed thermogenic enzyme or whatever, and you've got yourself some biotic napalm!

Most typical fantasy dragons are huge, powerful things. Discworld is hilarious for essentially making them this but reptillian:

They also explode and die when they are upset/frightened. Which is uhhh... a lot of the time. Fucking pathetic beasts

[nature-and-biodiversity-blog]

Golden-Tailed Gecko Strophurus taenicauda

[superbnature]

Eye of Sauron by gianmarcophotography http://bit.ly/2SjoisG

[planariaposting]

New buddies :))

[herpsandbirds]

Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus taenicauda), family Diplodactylidae, Queensland, Australia

This lizard is capable of spewing a sticky gooey substance from pores on its tail onto predators as a deterrent.

photograph by Rob Valentic

Watch a video of the spewing, here:

This Gecko Shoots the Most Disgusting Liquid Out Of Its Tail (youtube.com)

[gracefree]

Eye of Sauron by gianmarcophotography

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Eastern spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus williamsi)

Image credit: Nature Picture Library / Alamy

[psikonauti]

Northern spiny-tailed gecko (Strophurus ciliaris)

Photographed by Stephen Zozaya

[snakebusters]

A break-up of the Australian gecko genus Strophurus Fitzinger, 1843 sensu lato as currently recognized, from one to four genera, with two new subgenera defined, description of nine new species and two new subspecies. Australasian Journal of Herpetology ®, Issue 34, published 20 July 2017, pages 36-56. ABSTRACT The genus Strophurus Fitzinger, 1843 sensu lato has been the subject of numerous taxonomic reviews in recent years. With the exception of Wells and Wellington (1985), no recently publishing herpetologists have broken up the genus beyond that defined by Cogger (2014), which sums up the current position in Australian herpetology. Recognizing recent molecular work on the assemblage (e.g. Sadlier, Omeally and Shea (2005) or Nielsen et al. 2016), Strophurus is herein divided into four obvious and divergent genera. One is formally named for the first time. One of these genera is subdivided three ways into subgenera, two being named for the first time. In spite of four species being named in the past three years (two as subspecies, but elevated herein to species status on the basis of time of divergence), molecular evidence clearly shows numerous unnamed forms. To partially correct this situation, nine new easily diagnosed species and two new subspecies are formally named for the first time. A complete list of recognized and valid species, confirmed by published molecular data is also provided. Keywords: Taxonomy; lizards; Australia; Western Australia; Northern Territory; Queensland; Gecko; Strophurus; Eremiastrophrurus; Oedurella; new genus; Adelyndactylus; new subgenus; Graciledactylus; Parvusdactylus; new species; jackyae; dannybrowni; gedyei; chriswilliamsi; jenandersonae; alba; jamielindi; garystephensoni; sonnemanni; new subspecies; obscurum; minima.

[terranlifeform]