Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Publisher
International Reptile Conservation Foundation
Source Publication
Reptiles & Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History
Source ISSN
2330-3956
Original Item ID
DOI: 10.17161/randa.v31i1.22398
Abstract
Several species of geckos have independently evolved patagia, membranous features that facilitate gliding. Detailed morphological investigations of gecko patagia have largely been limited to gliding members of the genus Gekko (formerly in the genus Ptychozoon). Herein we describe the morphology of gliding patagia of the Flat-tailed House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus), a species with an independent evolutionary origin of gliding patagia from Gekko and an important species for researching gliding biomechanics. We compared morphology of H. platyurus with a closely related non-gliding species, the Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus). Using external examination and histological techniques, we compared and contrasted three regions that exhibit patagia (trunk, femoral region, and tail) in H. platyurus but not in H. frenatus. We find that patagia in a gliding Hemidactylus, like patagia in gliding members of the genus Gekko, are derived from expansion of lateral fat bodies, suggesting analogous processes to achieve similar phenotypic outcomes.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Petty, Amber M.; Gamble, Tony; and Griffing, Aaron H., "Notes on Patagium Morphology in the Gliding Flat-tailed House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus)" (2024). Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 986.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/986
Comments
Published version. Reptiles & Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History, Vol. 31, No. 1 (2024). DOI. © 2024 The Authors. Open Access.