“The Satanic leaf-tailed gecko is a lizard that looks like a leaf!”

One of the most spectacular examples of camouflage in the animal kingdom, the Satanic leaf-tailed gecko looks so much like a dead leaf that a person can be staring at it in a tree and simply not see it. The tail doesn’t just sort of resembles a leaf but has the veins, discolorations, and flaws of a real decaying leaf. This is important, for this gecko is tiny and lots of Malagasy animals have it on the menu!

5 Incredible Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Facts!

Here are five facts about the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko:

• Uroplatus phantasticus has a clear membrane over its eyes but no eyelids. To keep its eyeballs clean and moist, the gecko licks them.
• The lizard has a detachable tail that still wriggles even after it’s been detached. This is called autotomy. A new tail grows back in a few weeks.
• If losing the tail doesn’t work, the lizard opens its mouth, whose interior is a startling red. It screams at the same time.
• These geckos are not only colored like leaves but hang from branches like leaves. They also flatten their bodies against tree trunks with their heads pointing downwards.
• It’s called “satanic” because it has a pair of devilishly pointy ridges over its eyes.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Scientific Name

The Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko’s scientific name, Uroplatus phantasticus comes from Latin and Latinized Greek. Uroplatus is derived from the Greek oura, which means “tail,” and platys, which means flat. Phantasticus is Latin for “imaginary,” as the reptile has such an otherworldly appearance that the naturalist who named it, George Albert Boulenger couldn’t believe what he was seeing. So its name means “fantastical creature with a flat tail.” So far, there are only one species of this lizard, though it is a member of the Uroplatus genus of geckos.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Appearance

The Satanic leaf-tailed gecko only grows to 3.5 inches long, including its tail, and weighs less than an ounce. Like most geckos, it has huge eyes for nighttime vision, and its feet have bud-shaped toes filled with setae, which allows it to cling to surfaces as smooth as glass. Its back is arched like the curve of a leaf, and its tail is also foliform, with the spots and irregularities found on a decaying leaf. Males appear to have more notches on their tails than females. The body of the gecko also bears the colors of a dead or dying leaf, and it has sharp ridges over its eyes that give it a look that some people find satanic.

Plant or Animal?

The Satanic leaf-tailed gecko is one of several animals that have evolved to look like plants for the purpose of camouflage. The gecko does this not just by its coloration, which has the brown, tan, purple and orange blotches of a decaying leaf, but by its silhouette, which is irregular for a lizard and allows it to simply disappear into the trees where it lives. The texture of its skin also mimics leaf veins. It can even hang from a tree limb to mimic a leaf.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Behavior

This little gecko is solitary and spends its days lying flat against tree branches or tree bark. Because of its shape and coloration, it is hard for predators to see it. But at night it starts to hunt for its own prey, which are insects such as moths and crickets. In captivity, U. phantasticus will eat anything it can handle, including snails, spiders and cockroaches.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Habitat

The Satanic leaf-tailed gecko is only found in Madagascar, an island off the continent of Africa. It is found in the rainforests in the center and north of the country. The geckos don’t live very high in the trees but prefer shrubs and small trees a few feet from the ground.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Diet

The diet of this gecko in the wild is a wide array of insects, small arthropods and invertebrates. Females consume lots of snails, as they need the calcium in their shells for producing eggs. Captive geckos are also dusted with vitamins and calcium.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Predators and Threats

Predators of the gecko are rats and other, larger reptiles such as snakes. Some biologists also believe that birds prey on the animal, while others do not. But the biggest threat to this Malagasy gecko is the destruction of its habitat through logging. It has uniquely evolved to live in its habitat and doesn’t adapt well when it’s disturbed. Geckos that are taken from the wild to be pets also threaten the animal’s ability to thrive.

What eats the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko?

The Satanic leaf-tailed gecko is eaten by snakes, possibly birds of prey and rats.

What does the Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko eat?

The gecko eats insects, spiders, worms and snails.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Reproduction and Life Cycle

In the wild, Uroplatus phantasticus starts to breed during the rainy season and will even reproduce in captivity if given the proper care. In the wild, the female lays two to three eggs in leaf litter on the ground. She will lay about six clutches of eggs per year. If the eggs are fertile, they will be hard and round. Infertile eggs tend to be a bit oval and sticky.

The baby lizards hatch after 90 to 120 days and they are tiny replicas of their parents at only 3 0.12 of an inch long, including their tail. They are independent and receive no care from either parent. If they’re lucky, they can have a lifespan of over 10 years.

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko Population

Though scientists don’t know exactly how many of these geckos are in the wild, as of 2021 its conservation status is Least Concern. However, the population is decreasing.

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