''Ptychozoon'' was a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

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. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, known commonly as flying geckos, gliding geckos, or parachute geckos. Malkmus R, Manthey U (2002). ''Amphibians & Reptiles of Mount Kinabalu (North Borneo).'' Germany: A.R.G. 424 pp. . (''Ptychozoon'', pp. 32, 267-268). They all are now placed in the genus

Gekko ''Gekko'' is a genus of Southeast Asian geckos, Common name, commonly known as true geckos or calling geckos, in the Family (biology), family Gekkonidae. Although species such as ''Gekko gecko'' (tokay gecko) are very widespread and common, some ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...

. The biogeographic history of the genus ''Ptychozoon'' was deeply nested within that of the genus ''

'', the center of diversity of which is within Southeast Asia. Since dispersing into Southeast Asian rainforests, ''Pytochozoon'', like other forest-dwelling vertebrates, adapted to facilitate gliding. All

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the genus ''Ptychozoon'' are characterized by

cryptic coloration 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 ...

and elaborate webs surrounding the neck, limbs, trunk, and tail. These

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

s help to conceal the gecko against trees. When the gecko leaps into the air, the flaps are used to generate lift and allow the gecko to control its fall. It can glide up to . Also it does a swoop at the end of its glide to land softly. A similar adaptation is found in geckos of the genus '' Cosymbotus''. There were thirteen described species in the genus ''Ptychozoon''.

Species

The following species were recognized as being valid."''Ptychozoon'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Ptychozoon bannaense'' – Banna parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon cicakterbang'' – Malaysia parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon horsfieldii'' – Horsfield's flying gecko, Horsfield's parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon intermedium'' – intermediate flying gecko, Philippine parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon kabkaebin'' – Lao parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon kaengkrachanense'' – Kaeng Krachan parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon kuhli'' – Kuhl's flying gecko, Kuhl's parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon lionotum'' – smooth-backed gliding gecko, smooth-backed flying gecko, Burmese flying gecko, Burmese parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon nicobarensis'' – Nicobar gliding gecko *'' Ptychozoon popaense'' – Mt. Popa parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon rhacophorus'' – Sabah flying gecko *'' Ptychozoon tokehos'' – Cambodian parachute gecko *'' Ptychozoon trinotaterra'' ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

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

References

External links

Global Gecko Association
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1394970 Gekko Gliding animals Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl Lizard genera Taxa named by Johan Conrad van Hasselt

Species

References

Further reading

External links