Gekko's are an ancient group of reptiles. The New Latin 'gekko' and English 'gecko' stem from the Malay 'gēkoq', which is imitative of the sound the animals make. Gekko's are the most species rich group of lizards and belong to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world.
The "house gekko" in particular are much appreciated and found useful in warm climates, because they don't care about humans and clean up enormous quantities of insects.
In some countries, like China, medicinal properties are attributed to gekko's and some species are even seen as bringers of luck.
Sticky Business
Gekko's are known for their ability to climb any smooth surface, even vertical and upside-down glass.
This is because the spatulae tipped setae on gekko footpads facilitate attractive forces called van der Waals forces to arise between the spatulae structures and the surface.
However, a gekko can't turn these adhesive powers 'on' and 'off'. A gekko sticks immediately to a surface when it's toes make contact and can only come loose when the toes are under an angle. Their toes therefore bend in the opposite direction from human fingers and toes.
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