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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Gecko Pollinators Help "Save" Rare Flower


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A blue-tailed day gecko perches on the blossom of the rare Trochetia plant on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

New research shows that the lizard is the main pollinator of the flower, which is threatened with extinction. The shrubby Pandanus plant in turn protects the lizard from predators as it sits exposed on the Trochetia blossoms.

Photograph courtesy Dennis Hansen