Peattie Anne M
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, Berkeley, California, USA.
Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2008 Jul;291(7):869-75. doi: 10.1002/ar.20706.
Subdigital adhesive setae have previously been documented in all legged gecko families except the Eublepharidae. I present evidence that members of Aeluroscalabotes felinus, the only arboreal eublepharids, possess subdigital setae up to 9 mum in length. This discovery suggests that the conditions leading to adhesive setae were probably present in the ancestors of all geckos, rather than arising multiple times within Gekkota. The digits and setae of Aeluroscalabotes resemble those of other climbing, bent-toed geckos. I describe the setal morphology of the following bent-toed species: Cyrtodactylus peguensis, Gonatodes albogularis, and Pristurus rupestris. The presence of subdigital setae is highly correlated with an arboreal lifestyle across geckos and other lizards such as anoles and skinks. Although relatively simple in form, these setae likely confer additional traction that significantly benefits climbing species. Further developmental and biomechanical studies comparing these species with more agile climbers like the Tokay will improve our understanding of the evolutionary processes leading to adhesive setae, and consequently inform engineers attempting to fabricate effective artificial gecko setae.
除睑虎科外，此前在所有有足壁虎科中均已记录到指下粘附刚毛。我提供证据表明，唯一的树栖睑虎科成员——猫足睑虎属（Aeluroscalabotes felinus）的成员拥有长度达9微米的指下刚毛。这一发现表明，导致粘附刚毛出现的条件可能在所有壁虎的祖先中就已存在，而非在壁虎亚目（Gekkota）内部多次出现。猫足睑虎的指和刚毛与其他善于攀爬的弯趾壁虎相似。我描述了以下弯趾物种的刚毛形态：缅甸弯脚虎（Cyrtodactylus peguensis）、白喉睑虎（Gonatodes albogularis）和岩栖锯尾虎（Pristurus rupestris）。指下刚毛的存在与壁虎以及其他蜥蜴（如安乐蜥和石龙子）的树栖生活方式高度相关。尽管这些刚毛形态相对简单，但它们可能赋予额外的摩擦力，这对攀爬物种极为有利。进一步开展发育和生物力学研究，将这些物种与像蛤蚧这样更敏捷的攀爬者进行比较，将有助于我们更好地理解导致粘附刚毛的进化过程，从而为试图制造有效的人造壁虎刚毛的工程师提供参考。
