Cretaceogekko

Cretaceogekko is an extinct monotypic genus of gecko (represented by the type species Cretaceogekko burmae) known from a single partial specimen preserved in Burmese amber from the Cenomanian of Myanmar. The specimen was found in the Hukawng Valley in 2001 and the genus and species were named by E. Nicholas Arnold and George Poinar in 2008. The specimen includes a foot and partial tail. Cretaceogekko is the oldest known gecko, predating the Late Cretaceous gecko Gobekko and the Paleogene gecko Yanatarogecko, which has also been preserved in amber.[1]

Cretaceogekko
Temporal range: 99 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Infraorder: Gekkota
Genus: †Cretaceogekko
Arnold & Poinar, 2008
Type species
†Cretaceogekko burmae
Arnold & Poinar, 2008

The preserved foot shows that Cretaceogekko already possessed the tiny lamellae or ridges on the toe pads that allow modern geckos to cling to vertical surfaces. Cretaceogekko had a striped skin pattern that probably served as camouflage.[2]

References
  1. Arnold, E.N. & Poinar, G. (2008). "A 100 million year old gecko with sophisticated adhesive toe pads, preserved in amber from Myanmar (abstract)" (PDF). Zootaxa. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
  2. Science News, "Oldest Gecko Fossil Ever Found, Entombed In Amber" Accessed 3 September 2008.


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