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Hemidactylus frenatus
The toes of the gecko have a special adaptation that allows them to adhere to most surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension. The spatulae tipped setae on gecko footpads facilitate attractive forces called van der Waals forces. Their toes actually bend in the opposite direction from human fingers and toes. This allows them to overcome the van der Waals force by peeling their toes off surfaces from the tips inward. In essence, this peeling action alters the angle of incidence between millions of individual setae and the surface, reducing the Van der Waals force. Geckos' toes operate well below their full attractive capabilities for most of the time. This is because there is a great margin for error depending upon the roughness of the surface, and therefore the number of setae in contact with that surface. (wikipedia)
Spotted on Jul 2, 2012
Submitted on Jul 4, 2012
6 Comments
Thanks Satyen and mhwillis!!
Fantastic shot! Thanks for sharing the photo and the information.
Great information and superb spotting.
Thanks both of you , love the way you have commented one after the other :-)
and this was a lucky spotting at my friend yogesh's farm house .
Great information and I love this aspect of the house gecko - on the other side of the glass !!
Fabulous Atul - especially the stuff about Van der Waal's forces. Amazing isn't it. I love the way you've got the feet clear through the glass.