CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (N Carolina) 25 September 05 Glad You Asked: Seeing right through a gecko's head (Jeff Elder)
Q. We heard that when you look in a gecko's ear you can see through to the other side. Does that mean they can't hear? -- Cheryl Caine and Herbert Clegg, Charlotte
Cheryl and Herbert, you can indeed see light through the heads of some geckos. This would also be true of many newspaper editors -- if it weren't for the ear wax.
But experts say that in the case of the geckos and some other lizards, this is probably a case of seeing light through a translucent part of the head. The skin of light-colored species can appear almost clear. You can see the eggs inside some pregnant female geckos.
Geckos can hear -- although not as well as us. Lizards don't have ear flaps like mammals -- they have ear holes. Their eardrums are just below the surface of their skin.
Most lizards can hear better than snakes. Snakes probably developed underground and didn't really need acute hearing. What they "hear" is low-frequency vibrations. Experts say rattlesnakes can't hear their own rattles. Seems kinda unfair ...
Many geckos can also talk. No, I'm not referring to the Geico Insurance pitchman. To protect their territory or attract a mate, they chirp and make clicking noises, cackle and bark. Few other lizards are able to do this to lure mates. (Except the lizards who crawl around lounges late at night.)
Geckos are full of other surprises. Many ground-dwelling geckos lack eyelids, and -- check this out -- they lick their eyes to clean them. Imagine a lounge lizard doing that.
A gecko also stores fat in its tail. (Some of us humans have been accused of doing that as we age.) But geckos can detach their tails to escape a predator who has grabbed it. (Again, this might come in handy in a lounge late at night.) The gecko's tail grows back, but not as nice.
There are hundreds of varieties of gecko -- they're abundant throughout many of the warm areas of the world. The San Diego Zoo says the dwarf gecko is the smallest reptile in the world: It can fit on the tip of your finger.
The tokay gecko is aggressive and can give a nasty bite if you pick one up. You won't sell much insurance that way.
Glad You Asked: Seeing right through a gecko's head