Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul 18;38(4):191-197.
doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2017.046.

Regeneration of adhesive tail pad scales in the New Zealand gecko (Hoplodactylus maculatus)(Reptilia;Squamata;Lacertilia) can serve as an experimental model to analyze setal formation in lizards generally

Lorenzo Alibardi  1 , Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow  2
Affiliations

Regeneration of adhesive tail pad scales in the New Zealand gecko (Hoplodactylus maculatus)(Reptilia;Squamata;Lacertilia) can serve as an experimental model to analyze setal formation in lizards generally

Lorenzo Alibardi et al. Zool Res. .

Abstract

During the regeneration of the tail in the arboreal New Zealand gecko (Hoplodactylus maculatus) a new set of tail scales, modified into pads bearing setae 5-20 μm long, is also regenerated. Stages of the formation of these specialized scales from epidermal pegs that invaginate the dermis of the regenerating tail are described on the basis of light and electron microscopic images. Within the pegs a differentiating clear layer interfaces with the spinulae and setae of the Oberhäutchen according to a process similar to that described for the digital pads. A layer of clear cytoplasm surrounds the growing tiny setae and eventually cornifies around them and their spatular ends, later leaving the new setae freestanding on the epidermal surface. The fresh adhesive pads help the gecko to maintain the prehensile function of its regenerated tail as together with the axial skeleton (made of a cylinder of elastic cartilage) the pads allow the regenerated tail to curl around twigs and small branches just like the original tail. The regeneration of caudal adhesive pads represents an ideal system to study the cellular processes that determine setal formation under normal or experimental manipulation as the progressive phases of the formation of the setae can be sequentially analyzed.

Keywords: Adhesion; Epidermis; Gecko lizard; Prehensile function; Regeneration; Tail pad scales; Ultrastructure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Images and histological aspect of the regenerating tail skin of Hoplodactylus maculatus
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histological aspect of regenerating tail with formed tail pad lamellae
Figure 3
Figure 3
Electron microscopy images (TEM) aspect of formed setae in regenerated scales
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic drawing illustrating the formation of setae in the caudal pads of the gecko
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alibardi L, Meyer-Rochow VB Ultrastructure of the neural component of the regenerating spinal cord of three species of New Zealand lizards (Leiolopisma nigriplantare maccanni, Lampropholis delicata and Hoplodactylus maculatum). New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1988. 15 (4): 535- 550.
    1. Alibardi L, Meyer-Rochow VB Comparative fine structure of the axial skeleton inside the regenerated tail of lizards and the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus). Gegembaurs Morphologisches Jahrbuch, 1989. 135 (5): 705- 716. - PubMed
    1. Alibardi L Electron microscopic analysis of the regenerating scales in lizard. Bollettino di Zoologia, 1995. 62 (2): 109- 120.
    1. Alibardi L Keratohyalin-like granules in embryonic and regenerating epidermis of lizards and Sphenodon punctatus (Reptilia, Lepidosauria). Amphibia-Reptilia, 1999. 20 (1): 11- 23.
    1. Alibardi L Cell Biology of adhesive setae in gecko lizards. Zoology, 2009. 112 (6): 403- 424. - PubMed