Phyllurus
Sign in to savePhyllurus, from Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon), meaning "leaf", and οὐρά (ourá), meaning "tail", is a small genus of Australian leaf-tailed geckos, lizards in the family Carphodactylidae. Rarely seen outside their native habitat, they are notable for their highly effective camouflage which is in part aided by the spiny tubercles that cover every body part.
Taxonomy · GBIF
Thick-tailed Barking Gecko
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyCarphodactylidae
Observations1,808
Groupreptilia
via GBIF · iNaturalist · CC0
Article
3 sectionsContents
- Species
- References
- Further reading
Phyllurus, from Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon), meaning "leaf", and οὐρά (ourá), meaning "tail", is a small genus of Australian leaf-tailed geckos, lizards in the family Carphodactylidae. Rarely seen outside their native habitat, they are notable for their highly effective camouflage which is in part aided by the spiny tubercles that cover every body part.
Most member species, except for P. caudiannulatus, P. gulbaru and P. kabikabi, have very flattened, leaf-shaped tails. Some of these species have recently been reassigned to the genus Saltuarius. The Phyllurus geckos resemble the Uroplatus geckos of Madagascar. This is an example of convergent evolution because they are not closely related. As of 2023, Scawfell Island leaf-tailed gecko is the last known species of gecko to be found in Australia.