236 Grippy Australian Geckos

About this episode

This episode discusses a study that challenges previous assumptions about the grip of Australian geckos and introduces a new species of frog from central China.

Research from Asian geckos generally suggests that sticky pads are used for smooth surfaces, while claws help grip onto rougher surfaces like wood and rocks. But a new study using Australian geckos is has turned that paradigm upside-down. Then we talk about a brand new species of frog described from the mountains of central China. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Pillai RR, Riedel J, Wirth W, Allen-Ankins S, Nordberg E, Edwards W, Schwarzkopf L. 2025. What’s the point? The functional role of claws in pad-bearing taxa (Gekkota: Diplodactylidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292:20251362. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.1362. Species of the Bi-Week: Li S, Shi S, Liu J, Zhao J, Gao S, Wang B. 2025. A new species of the Boulenophrys (Anura, Megophryidae) from Hubei, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101:1213–1226. DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.155859. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: GEORGALIS, G. L., & JONES, M. E. (2025). A new peculiar early diverging caenophidian snake (Serpentes) from…

Topics covered

• Australian geckos
• sticky pads
• claws
• new species of frog
• Hubei, China

Keywords

• geckos
• frogs
• research
• species description

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Patreon, Redbubble

Places: China, Hubei, Hordle Cliff, England

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