Gray Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko
Demon Flat-tailed Leaf Lizard, also known as: Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko. It is about 6 to 9 cm long, weighs about 10 to 28 grams, and has a lifespan of about 3 to 5 years. It is distributed in the mountainous rainforests in eastern Madagascar, Africa. It is a mild reptile, although its name sounds quite intimidating. In fact, it likes to sleep quietly in the forests of Madagascar. It evolved into an extreme way of disguise: becoming a dead leaf.
Madagascar is a comfortable home for the nighttime activities of the demon flattail leaf lizard, which hangs motionlessly on the branches of the rainforest during the day. At night, its food includes crickets, flies, spiders, cockroaches and snails. This lizard is known for its amazing similarity to dry leaves, which helps it camouflages itself to avoid predators during the day and hides itself in the evening to ambush prey. The demon flat-tailed leaf lizard will take an attacking posture when threatened, such as opening its mouth wide and making loud screams to resist the threat.
Orange Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko
Species Description
Demon Flat-tailed Leaf-lizards are one of the 13 species of gecko lizards found on Madagascar Island in the 17th century. These 13 species are divided into several groups according to the vegetation they mimic. Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko belongs to the Harpoon Leaf-tailed Gecko group, which consists of 3 members, including Maha Leaf-tailed Gecko and Dead Leaf-flat-tailed Gecko. These three members all look like dead leaves.
All leaf-tail geckos have long and flat bodies and triangular heads. This demonic flat-tailed leaf lizard has a mottled color of gray, brown or orange, the same color as the rotten or withered leaves in the natural environment. The body of the demon flat-tailed leaf lizard is curved, just like the edge of a leaf, with lines on its skin similar to leaf veins. But the most eye-catching camouflage of the leaf-tail gecko is undoubtedly its tail, and the tail of this lizard is the longest and widest of all dead-leaf geckoes. Their tails are not only shaped and colored like leaves, but also have dents, ruffles and imperfections, and are more like dead leaves gnawed by insects.
Compared with other similar types, this demonic flat-tailed leaf lizard is smaller in size, including its tail, and has a length of between 6 and 9 cm.
grey Satan leaf-tail gecko
distribution and habitat
Demon flat-tailed leaf lizard lives only in the mountainous rainforests in eastern Madagascar. It is found at the bottom of the tree to disguise as a deciduous layer, about 1.8 meters high on the trunk. Madagascar is an island country close to the southeast coast of Africa, where forests are famous for their unique wildlife, home to lemurs, nests and hissing cockroaches, and the only known habitat for the world's demonic flattail leaf lizard.
Orange Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko
Diet and Habits
Demon Flat-tailed Leaf Lizard rests all day, but when the sun goes down the mountain, it starts to feed around. Its big eyes without eyelids were born to find prey in the dark. Like other lizards, this gecko is thought to feed on anything it can catch and put into its mouth, from crickets to spiders. However, there is little research on the native environment of the demonic flattail leaf lizards, so we cannot be sure what else they eat.
Demon Flat-tailed Leaf Lizard does not rely on passive disguise to protect itself. It also looks like leaves when resting. When the demon flat-tailed leaf lizard sleeps, its body lies flat on the trunk or branch, with its head facing down and its leafy tail facing up. If needed, it twists the body to highlight the leaf-like edges and helps itself fit into it.
Its ability to change colors is limited. When the disguise fails, it will lift its tail, raise its head, open its mouth to reveal a bright orange-red interior, and sometimes even send a loud distress signal.
Gray Satan leaf-tail gecko lying on the trunk to sleep
breeding and offspring
In Madagascar, the hometown of lizards, the beginning of the rainy season also marks the beginning of the lizard breeding season. When sexually mature, the male demon flattail leaf lizard has a bulge at the base of the tail, while the female does not. The female is which lays eggs with , which means that her laying eggs and larvae are completely developed outside her body.
Female demon flat-tailed leaf lizard will lay 2 to 3 spherical eggs in the deciduous nests on the ground or dead leaves of plants. This allows the young dragon to hide when it appears after 95 days. It may have 2 to 3 children a year. People know very little about this mysterious animal, but it is reported that it was the mother who left the eggs for herself to hatch.
Gray Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko
Protection status and threat
Although the Demon Flat-tailed Leaf-liver is listed as the least concerned species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, this unusual lizard may soon be in danger. The forests in Madagascar are degrading at an alarming rate. There is also a great demand for foreign pet enthusiasts to collect and export such pets. Trafficking and raising such pets is currently illegal, but the number may continue to decrease.
Orange Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko
Summary
Second few lizards can adapt so incredibly to changes in the environment, look exactly like a leaf, and a demonic leaf! This gecko looks like dry leaves on the forest floor, or even between branches, like well-textured skin and grooves bitten by insects.
This plant is unique to Madagascar and relies on this amazing similarity to dead leaves to avoid predators' discoveries. To complete the masquerade, the evil leaf-tailed gecko even hangs from the branches, looking like leaves curled from the stem.
Brown Satan Leaf-tailed Gecko
