Found a clutch of these cute little fellows up inside a yellow street lamp, a great place to catch insects navigating by the moon. 

I first heard about the gecko’s amazing toes from Polypedal Prof. Full at TED. They can hang from perfectly smooth glass, wet or dry, and support their body weight with one toe touching. But the toes are not sticky; they can also climb those surfaces at a meter per second. 

The nanostructured hairs at the tip of the gecko’s toes exploit the weak Van der Waals bonds at the molecular scale. It’s geometry, not surface chemistry that gives them adhesion… and inspires new designs for glue. (more info)

63 responses to “Magic Toes”

  1. Great shot particularly given that it was with a point & shoot, no flash, slow exposure. I need a pair of gecko booties for next time I go windsurfing …

  2. thanks… My best macro shots are with a makeshift camera brace, held breath, and most importantly, the 2-second timer to remove shutter press shake…

    I like the gecko’s smile at full size.

  3. I’m an admin for a group called The Best: BRAVO, and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.

    A truly excellent "hand-held" shot…..and yes, I was smiling as I typed that.

    Superb, Steve….simply superb.

    BRAVO….!

  4. While living on the island of Guam, we had tons of geckos. Quite often, they would be walking across the dining room ceiling & decide to ‘drop in on us’, & into our soup, tea, etc!
    I’ve read about the ‘glue’ studies, very exciting!

  5. very cool — even humorous — photo. Reminds me of a Simpson’s character. 😉

  6. Great catch…..love the detail

    " I'm stuck......!!! "

  7. They should have used this picture for this week’s cover on Nature. The article solves the problem of making sythetic adhesives that maintain the adhesive over many cycles of use. It describes: a "hybrid adhesive, which combines the salient design elements of both gecko and mussel adhesives, should be useful for reversible attachment to a variety of surfaces in any environment."

  8. The scales and scutes on the gecko’s skin are so cool.

  9. They ARE quite amazing, huh? I love geckos and the feel of their toes on your skin. This one’s very polite, they can be rather agressive. Great picture. = ]

    The World Through My Eyes

  10. Great shot. Guido, my Tokay Gecko of many, many years used to perform the most incredible and bizarre aerial maneuvers in persuit of his regular meals of live crickets.

    Sadly he passed away before we humans had figured out how his toes were working their magic.

    Amazing bio-tech.

  11. great portrait, well balanced composition, impressive lighting

  12. and he shall henceforth be named Gordon 🙂

    steve, could you please submit this to the Viva Evolution pool as well. thanks!

  13. that´s a wonderful photo. the light balance is very good…

  14. It is a cool critter. Great close-up

  15. Crickey, that’s a wow of a macro. Love the crisp sharp detail and the black bg works a charm at showing the little fella off. Excellent work.
    "A" Class

  16. This is such a great image!! — You have been awarded the
    "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Photo-ART EXHIBITION & Optional Competition Group"
    Green Gecko Award
    fingers
    for helping raise awareness of The State of the Planet, and our future!

  17. Great macro with details!
    This is such a great image!! — You have been awarded the
    "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Photo-ART EXHIBITION & Optional Competition Group"
    Green Gecko Award
    fingers

  18. This is such a great image!! — You have been awarded the
    "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Photo-ART EXHIBITION & Optional Competition Group"
    Green Gecko Award
    fingers
    for helping raise awareness of The State of the Planet, and our future!
    You are invited to add this image to "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Group. Please add this Tag — "FIRST – THE EARTH!", then comment/ +AWARD two other entries in our pool [for each photo you enter].


    Seen in "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Photo-ART EXHIB/+comp. [Enter 1/AWARD2] (?)

  19. Just love this little fellow! Nice detail! LOVE IT!

  20. Thanks a lot for the great foto, for the interesting informations and insights!!!

    This is such a great image!! — You have been awarded the
    "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Photo-ART EXHIBITION & Optional Competition Group"
    Green Gecko Award
    fingers
    for helping raise awareness of The State of the Planet, and our future!
    You are invited to add this image to "FIRST – THE EARTH!" Group. Please add this Tag — "FIRST – THE EARTH!", then comment/ +AWARD two other entries in our pool [for each photo you enter].

  21. I think the Green Geckos are rigging the voting here for one of their own… 😉

    Inspired by geckos: Stanford StickyBot Video

  22. Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Animal Realm, and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.

  23. Hi, I’m an admin for a group called TakE mE TO yOuR LEaDeR, and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.

  24. A1-App-FTE-455531011_7dfad6f375_m

    A great image, much admired by Donna62 –,
    a "FIRST – THE EARTH!" moderator – http://www.flickr.com/groups/first-the-earth/

  25. Very cute.
    Also, »the 2-second timer to remove shutter press shake…« – that is a great idea. Why didn’t I come up with this? Thanks!

  26. Where are you? We are photographically … Glitter Photos
    ..
    Hi, Steve, my friend ~ Your *magic toes* image is a delight. ~ Thanks for exhibiting it in our group. ~ Keep an eye on the ‘green’ picture … Help ‘re-enchant’ the Earth!!! This is excellent! – Well done!

    HERE’S TO A SUSTAINABLE & GREEN **2008 ~ YEAR OF PLANET EARTH**
    In the great global journey to Sustainable living we support Harmony with Nature. Please accept our "FIRST – THE EARTH!!" Photo-ART EXHIBIT. + Volunteers [AWARD + FAVE 2]" group F-TE APPRECIATION AWARD as INVITE to exhibit! Be sure you TAG, first-theearth and if you haven’t already, please make me your CONTACT / FRIEND.

    Empire
Sandy - [c] LeapFrog!

    Please * * A~L~W~A~Y~S * * give a FAVE star with your AWARDS + comments!

    Graphic concept ~
    If you’d like to be an active F-TE ambassador, please help us create an International Foundation. Read our info, and ask me how. Help promote Earthcare in your area, via Wind & Solar power, etc., and our future Tallship.
    For a big difference, a new ‘Earth-dream’, support F-TE in Earthcare. – Mel [Group Admin]

  27. Ostrich
    I saw this great photograph
    in the QEMD "Finch" Group

  28. "CONGRATULATIONS – TO YOU !"
    From the QEMD "Finch" Group

    evening - mandarin duck reflection

    This photo was "Chosen as a Fave"
    in the Best Viewed on Large Thread
    ~ For the month of March 2008 ~

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