Image: Detached Tail
When is a leaf not a leaf?
When it's the detached tail of a Southern Leaf-tailed gecko.
- Photographer:
- Geoff Beech
- Rights:
- © Geoff Beech
- Order:
- Squamata
- Location:
- Pitt Town, NSW
- Date taken:
- 4 November 2007
Additional information
People often come across strange, leaf-shaped 'creatures' in their backyards. These usually turn out to be the detached tail from a Leaf-tailed Gecko, Phyllurus platurus.
When the Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko is threatened or attacked, it discards its tail so it can escape to safety. It will re-grow another tail and the missing tail will decompose.
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