Uroplatus - encyclopedia article about Uroplatus.

Uroplatus

Uroplatus sikorae

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	*Uroplatus*

Uroplatus is a genus of geckos commonly referred to as Flat or Leaf-tailed Geckos. All of the species of this genus are found in primary and secondary forests on the island of Madagascar. They are endemic to the island, and found nowhere else on earth.

The Uroplatus are nocturnal and arboreal. They range in size from about 12 inches (U. giganteus) to 2.5 inches (U. ebanaui and U. phantasticus). They spend most of the daylight hours hanging vertically on tree trunks, head down, resting. During the night, they will venture from their daylight resting spots, and go off in search of prey. They are all insectivores.

They all have coloration developed as camouflage, most being grayish brown to black or greenish brown with various markings meant to resemble tree bark. There are two variations of this camouflage: leaf form, and bark form. The leaf form is present on only two species, U. phantasticus and U. ebanaui, which are also the two smallest species. All other forms blend in well with tree bark upon which they rest during the day. Some of these treebark forms have developed a flap of skin, running the length of their bodies, known as a dermal flap, which they lay against the tree during the day, scattering shadows, and making their outline practically invisible.

Uroplatus are found in the herpetology and pet trade, but rarely. Most are threatened due to deforestation and habitat loss, therefore more are taken out of the wild in areas that are being preped for being cut down.

During their breeding season, female Uroplatus lay from 2-4 eggs depending on species and conditions.

Example of camouflage

Classification of genus Uroplatus:

Northern Flat-tail Gecko, Uroplatus alluaudi
Spear-tail Gecko, Uroplatus ebenaui
Giant Leaf-tail gecko, Uroplatus fimbriatus
Uroplatus giganteus
Gunther's Leaf-tail Gecko, Uroplatus guentheri
Frilled Leaf-tail gecko, Uroplatus henkeli
Lined Leaf-Tail Gecko, Uroplatus lineatus
Uroplatus malahelo
Uroplatus malama
Satanic Leaf-tail gecko, Uroplatus phantasticus
Uroplatus pietschmanni
Southern Leaf-tail Gecko, Uroplatus sikorae
Mossy Leaftail Gecko, Uroplatus sikorae sameiti
Uroplatus sikorae sikorae

Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Sauropsida*
Goodrich, 1916

Subclasses

Anapsida
Diapsida

Synonyms

Reptilia Laurenti, 1768

Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class
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Squamata
Oppel, 1811

black: range of Squamata

Suborders
see text

This article is about the Squamata order of reptiles. For the Roman scale armour see: Lorica squamata.

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Gekkonidae
Gray, 1825

Subfamilies

Aeluroscalabotinae
Eublepharinae
Gekkoninae
Teratoscincinae
Diplodactylinae

Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae
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genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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Motto
Tanindrazana, Fahafahana, Fandrosoana (Malagasy)
Patrie, liberté, progrès (French)
"Ancestral-land, Liberty, Progress"
Anthem

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endemic, it is unique to its own place or region; it is found only there, and not found naturally anywhere else. The place must be a discrete geographical unit, often an island or island group, but sometimes a country, habitat type, or other defined area or zone.
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nocturnality describes sleeping during the daytime and being active at night - the opposite of the diurnal human lifestyle, and that of those animals with which we are most familiar. The intermediate crepuscular schedule (twilight activity) is also common.
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Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees". Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.

In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees or bushes.
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insectivore is a carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures.

Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers and make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine environments.
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Camouflage, also known as cryptic coloration or concealing coloration, allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment. Examples include a tiger's stripes and the battledress of a modern soldier.
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tree is a perennial woody plant. It is sometimes defined as a woody plant that attains diameter of 10 cm (30 cm girth) or more at breast height (130 cm above ground).
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Herpetology (from greek: 'ερπετόν, "creeping animal" and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles and amphibians.
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P.E.T. redirects here

PET may mean:

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste, the Danish Security Intelligence Service
Pierre Elliot Trudeau, a Canadian Prime Minister

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Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area, or wasteland.^[] Generally, the removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with
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U. ebenaui

Binomial name
Uroplatus ebenaui
Boettger, 1879

Uroplatus ebenaui is a gecko which is found on the island Nosy Bé and in northern Madagascar. These geckos live in tropical rain forests.
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U. fimbriatus

Binomial name
Uroplatus fimbriatus
Schneider, 1797

Uroplatus fimbriatus is a gecko which is found in eastern Madagascar and on the islands Nosy Bohara and Nosy Mangabe.
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U. guentheri

Binomial name
Uroplatus guentheri
M. F. Mocquard, 1908

Uroplatus guentheri
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U. henkeli

Binomial name
Uroplatus henkeli
Böhme & Ibisch, 1990

Uroplatus henkeli, also known as Henkel's Leaftail Gecko
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U. lineatus

Binomial name
Uroplatus lineatus
Duméril & Bibron, 1836

Uroplatus lineatus is a gecko which is found in eastern Madagascar and on the island Nosy Bohara.
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U. phantasticus

Binomial name
Uroplatus phantasticus

The Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko, Uroplatus phantasticus, is an interesting species of gecko found in Madagascar.
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