Satanic Gecko: No one can see him, but he watches everyone. He has become so good at hiding in the foliage that all you can see are his creepy eyes! (7 photos)

His blood-red eyes pierce the pitchless darkness of the jungle. Hiding his essence in the shadows, he dissolves in the crowns and becomes a ghost of the forest. Nobody sees him, but he watches everyone. Remember when walking through the jungles of Madagascar: the satanic gecko is watching you.





Okay, it's actually not that creepy. The satanic gecko does not engage in evil deeds and does not worship occult things. This little animal just has an extremely specific appearance. What else to call a reptile, from which only two red eyes are visible against the background of vegetation?



It’s amazing how biologists even managed to notice this handsome guy back in 1888. Our cold-blooded fan of devilry is one of the smallest geckos in the world: the lizard reaches a length of some 10 centimeters, half of which is occupied by the tail. Moreover, even for Madagascar, where the reptile is endemic, it is extremely rare - its habitat is extremely specific and extends no more than 500 kilometers.





The image of the fiend of hell is also complemented by a nocturnal lifestyle. In hunting in pitch darkness, the gecko is helped by two large Eyes of Sauron. The acuity of his night vision is 350 times better than human daytime vision, and therefore the servant of Mordor has no problems with processing arthropods into biofuel.



Nothing unusual, just a leaf smiling.

But the most beautiful thing about our hero is his ability to copy the foliage in which he, in fact, lives. Its entire body is covered with thorns, leaf veins and spots, and its tail has special serrations, thanks to which it resembles a eaten leaf. The picture is complemented by the ability to change its color.



So, where did you lose the lizard?

But it’s not enough to look like a leaf, you have to move like a leaf. Therefore, to complete the camouflage, the satanic gecko slowly moves its tail back and forth, depicting a leaf swaying in the wind. If he is nevertheless noticed, he opens his blood-red mouth and begins to scream at the top of his lungs - while the predator tries to understand what is happening, the gecko disappears.



A little about my personal life. After solitude, females lay only two eggs twice a year, so the expectant mother protects them like the apple of her eye. After two or three months, new minions of the abyss are born, fully prepared for a long independent life - in captivity they are able to live for a quarter of a century.



The relationship between the satanic gecko and man is very complex. Homo sapiens, like neighbors with endless repairs, strive to ruin the life of reptiles. They destroy tropical forests and catch reptiles for sale - neither the formidable name nor the camouflage that geckos have been developing for millions of years works against people, alas.