Uroplatus

Uroplatus

Uroplatus is a genus of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos, leaf-tailed geckos, or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary and secondary forest.



All Uroplatus species have highly cryptic colouration, which acts as camouflage, most being grayish-brown to black or greenish-brown with various markings resembling tree bark. There are two variations of this camouflage: leaf form, and bark form. The leaf form is present in only four described species, U. phantasticus, U. ebenaui, U. finiavana, and U. malama, which are also the smallest species. All other forms blend in well with tree bark upon which they rest during the day. Some of these tree bark forms have developed a flap of skin, running the length of the body, known as a "dermal flap", which they lay against the tree during the day, scattering shadows, and making their outline practically invisible. These geckos bear a resemblance to geckos of the genera Phyllurus and Saltuarius of Australia. This is an example of convergent evolution.
The skull of Uroplatus is strongly ossified, with an extremely high tooth count and incipient secondary palate.

Habitat destruction and deforestation in Madagascar is the primary threat to the future of Uroplatus geckos as well as collection for the pet trade.^[6] The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) lists all of the Uroplatus species on their "Top ten most wanted species list" of animals threatened by illegal wildlife trade, because of it "being captured and sold at alarming rates for the international pet rade".It is a CITES Appendix 2 protected animal