This 'Satanic' Lizard Is So Good At Looking Exactly Like A Leaf

So cool 😈

There are a lot of animals that are good at hiding — like dogs who don’t want to go to the vet and cats who can fit themselves into pretty much anything. That kind of hiding has to be learned, though, whereas some animals are just born with it. 

satanic leaf-tailed gecko
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The satanic leaf-tailed gecko is a species of gecko found in Madagascar, and they’re unique because they look almost exactly like leaves. In fact, if you were wandering around and came across one of these guys posed next to some actual leaves on a branch, you might not even be able to tell the difference. 

And of course, that’s the whole point. 

satanic lead-tailed gecko
Damian Ryszawy/Shutterstock.com

In the rainforests where this little gecko lives, there are lots of much larger predators living alongside them. In order to survive, they have to be good at hiding, and what better way to do it than to completely blend into their surroundings. The gecko’s skin has ridges all along it that are meant to look just like the veins of leaves, and even their tails are leaf-shaped. They really commit to the whole look quite well. 

satanic leaf-tailed gecko
MyImages - Micha/Shutterstock.com

In terms of this gecko’s somewhat spooky name, it might come from the fact that they have long red tongues as an added feature to try and scare off predators, and they’re also able to let out rather scary screams on top of that. 

Definitely sounds a bit satanic, right? 

satanic leaf-tailed gecko
Ryan M. Bolton/Shutterstock.com

At the end of the day, though, these geckos are just trying to live their lives, blending in among the leaves as a sneaky way of avoiding other animals who they don’t want to see. 

satanic leaf-tailed gecko
reptiles4all/Shutterstock.com

We all thought cats were the expert hiders, but it seems that the award definitely goes to the satanic leaf-tailed gecko. Good job, guys!