4.7 Article

And thereby hangs a tail: morphology, developmental patterns and biomechanics of the adhesive tails of crested geckos (Correlophus ciliatus)

Journal

Publisher

ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0650

Keywords

Diplodactylidae; Gekkota; caudal adhesion; setae; embryology

Funding

  1. National Science Foundation [DEB 1657662, MRI 1726994]
  2. Gerald M. Lemole Endowed Chair Funds through Villanova University

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The study characterized the adult and embryonic morphology, as well as adhesive performance, of crested gecko tail pads. It found that the tail pads exhibit impressive adhesive ability, capable of holding up to five times their own mass, and share similar developmental patterns with toe pads.
Among the most specialized integumentary outgrowths in amniotes are the adhesive, scale-like scansors and lamellae on the digits of anoles and geckos. Less well-known are adhesive tail pads exhibited by 21 gecko genera. While described over 120 years ago, no studies have quantified their possible adhesive function or described their embryonic development. Here, we characterize adult and embryonic morphology and adhesive performance of crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) tail pads. Additionally, we use embryonic data to test whether tail pads are serial homologues to toe pads. External morphology and histology of C. ciliatus tail pads are largely similar to tail pads of closely related geckos. Functionally, C. ciliatus tail pads exhibit impressive adhesive ability, hypothetically capable of holding up to five times their own mass. Tail pads develop at approximately the same time during embryogenesis as toe pads. Further, tail pads exhibit similar developmental patterns to toe pads, which are markedly different from non-adhesive gecko toes and tails. Our data provide support for the serial homology of adhesive tail pads with toe pads.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available