SHIFTING SANDS

NAMIB SAND GECKO

There are fewer see-through reptiles than amphibians. The thin, oxygen-breathing skin of frogs and salamanders naturally lends itself to becoming translucent, whereas the scales that cover lizards, snakes, turtles and crocodiles, do not. Among the reptiles, geckos are best at it. The Namib sand gecko (Palmatogecko rangei) melts into the dunes of its arid home in south-west Africa like a mirage, thanks to its ultra-pale, pink and yellowish scales. It ekes out a living by darting across the hot sand to catch crickets and other insects. Another name for this little lizard is the webfooted gecko, due to the unusual splayed feet that help it burrow and stop it sinking in loose sand. In 2015, a team of herpetologists hypothesised that, over time, as geckos migrated to open deserts from the forests where they originally evolved, the adhesive areas on their feet moved too, from the soles to the tips of their toes. Some desert geckos have lost these sticky pads altogether.