The Flying Gecko is a very unique looking species of lizard that is native to parts of South-East Asia.
This lizard has a number of different common names including the Parachute Gecko, the Gliding Gecko and the Kuhl’s Flying Gecko.
With common names like this, it is easy to guess what this lizard is famous for. It has the ability to jump from a height and ‘glide’ to safety.
Flying Gecko Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Flying Gecko belongs to a family of lizards called Gekkonidae. This is a group of lizards that fall under the Infraorder Gekkota, meaning they are a sub-group of Geckos.
The Gekkonidae family of geckos are referred to as common geckos and they are the largest group of geckos in the world.
There are around 65 recognised genera and approximately 1,000 different species that fall under this family, making it one of the largest families of reptiles in the world.
Some of the other species in this family include the Madagascar Giant Day Gecko and the Gold Dust Day Gecko.
Genus
The Flying Gecko was originally placed in a genus called Ptychozoon. It was the only species in this genus.
There is a lot of debate over the validity of this genus with some scientists claiming that the species should be classified under the much larger Gekko genus.
The species in the Gekko genus are often referred to as ‘True Geckos’ or ‘Calling Geckos’.
This is a very common genus of Geckos with many well-known species classified under this genus including species such as the Tokay Gecko and the Golden Gecko.
However, with over 85 different recognised species at the time of writing, this genus also includes some very rare and unique species of Gecko.
Species
The scientific name for the Flying Gecko is Gekko kuhli or Ptychozoon kuhli depending on what literature you read.
The species was first described in 1902 by a Norwegian-American herpetologist named Leonhard Stejneger. There are currently no recognised sub-species.
Flying Gecko Description
The Flying Gecko has fairly basic coloration that consists of different shades of black, brown and tan.
These different colors cover the lizard’s body in blotches which gives them a camouflage appearance. This is an important mechanism that helps protect the lizard from predators.
While the coloration of these geckos is fairly basic, many of its other features are far more spectacular.
Despite the name Flying Gecko, these lizards can’t actually fly. They do however jump and glide from one branch to the next.
They can do this because they have extra flaps of skin which act as a form of parachute or glider to allow the lizard to safely descend after a jump.
These flaps of skin are visible on the lizard’s sides, around their feet and neck and along its tail. They even have webbed feet to assist with gliding as opposed to swimming.
Like many species of arboreal Gecko, the Flying Gecko has microscopic hairs on their toe-pads which help them ‘stick’ to almost any surface, including glass.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Flying Gecko is native to parts of South-East Asia. However, they are only found in a small part of mainland Asia.
On the mainland, the Flying Geckos range is limited to the Malay Peninsula where it can be found in the Southern portion of Thailand, mainland Malaysia and Singapore.
It can also be found on many of the surrounding Indonesian islands including places such as Sumatra, Java and Borneo.
They can also be found on many of the smaller islands around Indonesia. Its range is not believed to extend as far as places such as Sulawesi and Timor.
Flying Gecko Behaviour
The Flying Gecko is a very unique lizard in both appearance and behaviour but despite their name, they can’t actually fly.
They get their name Flying Gecko because they can jump from a height and glide to safety using extended flaps of skin on their body as a glider.
Because of this unique ability, they are also referred to as Parachute Geckos or Gliding Geckos but these are simply just different names for the same lizard.
The ability to jump from a height and glide to a different tree or branch is an important defensive mechanism for these lizards as it allows them to escape many predators.
Being an arboreal species, the Flying Gecko also has microscopic hairs on its toe pads that allows them to ‘stick’ to almost any surface, including glass.