Remember Murray?

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Remember Murray...

Remember Murray?
No, I haven't seen him again

But today my daughter,
the one in the throes of first love,
opened up the newspaper
and let out a shriek

because there inside the paper
was a distant cousin of Murray...


a very tiny relative
only one inch long,
a common house gecko
Hemdidactylus frenatus,
who now lives throughout Australia
having immigrated from Asia
over the past twenty years
as hard little dessication resistant eggs
travelling amongst imported cargo.

Baby gecko
will turn a pale creamy colour with age
and scamper up the walls
and across the ceiling
of our home
calling: thuck thuck thuck


He scampers on his webbed like feet
with specialized toes covered in millions
of microscopic hairs ending in spatulae
that stick him the wall
allowing him to travel vertically up
and down without falling

Photo by Robert Hull

his very clever tail also helps him
with his climbing
and acts as a fifth limb.
If he should fall
the tail manoeuvres his body
and orients him
so that he always lands on his feet



We love our little house geckos
for their cute appearance
and engaging chatter,
and also because
they love mosquitoes...



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