''Phyllurus'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of Australian leaf-tailed

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia a ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Carphodactylidae The Carphodactylidae, informally known as the southern padless geckos, are a family of geckos, lizards in the infraorder Gekkota. The family consists of 32 described species in 7 genera, all of which are endemic to Australia. They belong to the s ...

. Rarely seen outside their native

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, they are notable for their highly effective

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

which is in part aided by the spiny

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s that cover every body part. Most member

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, except for ''P. caudiannulatus'', ''P. gulbaru'' and ''P. kabikabi'', have very flattened,

leaf A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

-shaped

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals ...

s. Some of these species have recently been reassigned to the genus ''

Saltuarius ''Saltuarius'' is a genus of larger Australian geckos, known collectively as leaf-tailed geckos. The genus was created in 1993 to accommodate some former members of the genus '' Phyllurus''. These geckos appear very similar to the ''Uroplatus'' ...

''. The ''Phyllurus'' geckos resemble the ''

Uroplatus ''Uroplatus'' is a genus of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary ...

'' geckos of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. This is an example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

because they are not closely related.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Phyllurus amnicola'' Couper,

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People *Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of the D ...

Hoskin Hoskin is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Ashley Hoskin English footballer * Chuck Hoskin Jr. (born 1974/1975), tribal nation chief * Chuck Hoskin (born 1952), politician and father of Chuck Hoskin Jr. * Cyril Henry Hoskin (1910 ...

& Covacevich, 2000 – Mount Elliot leaf-tailed gecko *''

Phyllurus caudiannulatus ''Phyllurus caudiannulatus'', also known as the Bulburin leaf-tailed gecko or ringed thin-tail gecko is a gecko found in Australia. It is endemic to the Bulburin State Forest in the Dawes Range and Many Peaks Range in southeastern Queensland ...

'' Covacevich, 1975 – Bulburin leaf-tailed gecko *'' Phyllurus championae'' Couper, Schneider, Hoskin & Covacevich, 2000– Champion's leaf-tailed gecko *''

Phyllurus gulbaru ''Phyllurus gulbaru'', the Gulbaru leaf-tailed gecko, is a species of geckos found in Australia. It is endemic to the extreme southern end of the Paluma Range in Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australi ...

'' Hoskin, Couper &

, 2003 – Gulbaru leaf-tailed gecko *'' Phyllurus isis'' Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993 – Mount Blackwood leaf-tailed gecko *''

Phyllurus kabikabi ''Phyllurus kabikabi'', also known as the Oakview leaf-tailed gecko is a gecko found in Australia. It is endemic to Oakview National Park in Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption ...

'' Couper, Hamley & Hoskin, 2008 – Oakview leaf-tailed gecko *'' Phyllurus nepthys'' Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993 – Eungella leaf-tailed gecko *''

Phyllurus ossa ''Phyllurus ossa'', also known as the Mackay Coast leaf-tailed gecko is a gecko found in Australia. It is endemic to Mount Ossa National Park and Dryander National Park in mideastern Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Q ...

'' Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993 – Mackay Coast leaf-tailed gecko *''

Phyllurus pinnaclensis ''Phyllurus pinnaclensis'', also known as the Pinnacles leaf-tailed gecko, is a species of geckos found in Queensland in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising t ...

'' Hoskin, Bertola & Higgie, 2019 – Pinnacles leaf-tailed gecko *''

Phyllurus platurus The broad-tailed gecko, southern leaf-tailed gecko, or Sydney leaf-tailed gecko (''Phyllurus platurus'') is a common gecko of the family Carphodactylidae found in the Sydney Basin. The species uses its mottled colour to camouflage against bark ...

'' (

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada * Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England * Shaw, Berkshire, a village * Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a suburb of Swindon ...

, 1790) – broad-tailed gecko The northern leaf-tailed gecko (previously ''Phyllurus cornutus'' Ogilby, 1892), is now placed in the genus ''

''. ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atte ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Phyllurus''.

Species

References

Further reading