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This five-inch translucent lizard is native to the Namib Desert of southwest Africa. This region receives virtually no rain as the land is composed of bare rock and sand, although during the nights fog rolls in from the Atlantic, cooling the sand dunes. The gecko depends on this moisture to survive, as the gecko’s thin skin allows it to absorb moisture right out of the air. This reptile burrows during the day to avoid the extreme heat of the desert sun because the sand remains at a constant temperature just a few inches below the surface. Due to the harsh heat of the Namib the gecko has evolved into a nocturnal animal.
Its name has derived from its feet, which resemble that of snowshoes in function, and a duck’s feet in appearance. This gecko has the scient
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The web-footed gecko also finds itself prey to the brown hyena during times when the gecko is slow to burrow down for the day or continues searching for food into sunup. Although the gecko has good visibility, it serves no purpose if the prey is able to remain still, but in most cases the prey cannot stay motionless, triggering the gecko’s sight. First, in the vastness of the desert, the hyena sees it. Now the female gecko shall lay two soft fertilized eggs, which will soon harden. The teeth of this chordate are small and serve to grip the prey as its jaws crush it. Males display their eagerness to mate by using very loud calls. The gecko’s eyes have adapted to its environment to be more functional than most would expect.
The web-footed gecko serves man as neither a pest nor a value. Even though this lizard is native to the heat of the Namib Desert, some people in the U. This gecko’s feet have evolved to be webbed to stop them from sinking into the sand, nevertheless it also allows them to help the gecko shovel sand as it burrows daily. This gecko is wild lizard that deserves to be confused with nothing. From its specialized physical appearance to its physical ability to survive in the harshness of the Namib Desert, it is a five-inch wonder. The web-footed gecko is classified as follows: Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekonidae
Genus: Palmatogecko
Species: Palmatogecko rangei
The web-footed gecko is a predator as it has a developed sense of sight.
The gecko’s physical appearance is very unique and specialized to its environment. Although it is not a common house pet, people that do have them say they live and breed well in the captivity of an aquarium fitted with a heat lamp and sand to mimic the desert.
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