Microhabitat and adhesive toepads shape gecko limb morphology.

Abstract

Different substrates pose varied biomechanical challenges that select specific morphologies, such as long limbs for faster running and short limbs for balanced posture while climbing narrow substrates. We tested how gecko locomotion is affected by the microhabitat they occupy and by a key adaptation-adhesive toepads-through analyzing how those are related to limb morphology. We collected microhabitat and toepads data for over 90% of limbed gecko species, and limb measurements for 403 species from 83 of the 121 limbed gecko genera, which we then used in phylogenetic comparative analyses. Our data highlight the association of adhesive toepads with arboreality, but a phylogenetic analysis shows that this relationship is not significant, suggesting that these traits are phylogenetically constrained. Comparative analyses reveal that pad-bearing species possess shorter hindlimbs and feet, more even limb lengths, and lower crus: thigh ratios, than padless geckos, across microhabitats. Saxicolous geckos have the longest limbs and limb segments. This is probably influenced by selection for long strides, increased takeoff velocity, and static stability on inclined surfaces. Terrestrial geckos have more even hind- and forelimbs than arboreal geckos, unlike patterns found in other lizards. Our findings underline the difficulty to infer on microhabitat-morphology relationships from one taxon to another, given their differing ecologies and evolutionary pathways. We emphasize the importance of key innovation traits, such as adhesive toepads, in shaping limb morphology in geckos and, accordingly, their locomotion within their immediate environment.