Physics of Animal Adaptations: Ptychozoon Kuhli The Ptychozoon Kuhli or more commonly known as the Flying/ Parachute Gecko is one of the most unique and incredible animals you could ever come across. This primarily nocturnal animal belongs to the Reptilian class in the Gekkoniade family of course in the Animal kingdom. These animals can be found in Southeast Asia in tropical evergreen habitats of the countries shown on the right. This makes for an ideal habitat for the gecko because they primarily live gliding from tree and staying mostly up in the forests dense canopy layer.They are grey or brown and have small blotches and wavy like patterns throughout their bodies that help them camouflage with trees as they are forest dwelling lizards.
The parachute gecko is approximately 58 to 108 mm and is a fairly small member of the reptile class. They have flaps of skin growing from their heads, flanks, limbs, and tails as well as having webbed feet. All of these characteristics are not internally supported by muscle or bone but are simply just pieces of excess skin. These flaps of skin throughout the body are used for the gliding or “parachuting” action the gecko is so commonly known for. Snakes, birds, and some large spider species often prey for this gecko but, due to its excellent sense of hearing they are able to detect predators in time to often avoid them.
This animal has a very thick tongue, which allows it to eat different types of fruit, flower nectar, and a wide variety of insects and worms. The flying gecko has many incredible adaptations such as its amazing camouflaging abilities, which allow it to become practically invisible when it is on a tree so the animal can be avoided by predators. But the adaptation that most people associate this gecko with is its amazing ability to glide and move like a parachute (hence its name). As stated earlier, the parachute gecko lives only in forest habitats so their main place of sanction is trees….
