Kingdom Animalia Infraorder Gekkota Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | Class Reptilia Scientific name Cretaceogekko burmae Rank Genus | |
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Cretaceogekko is an extinct monotypic genus of gecko (represented by the type species Cretaceogekko burmae) known from a single partial specimen preserved in amber from the Early Cretaceous of Burma. The specimen was found in the Hukawng Valley in 2001 and the genus and species were named by E. Nicholas Arnold and George Poinar in 2008. The specimen includes a foot and partial tail. Cretaceogekko is the oldest known gecko, predating the Late Cretaceous gecko Gobekko and the Paleogene gecko Yanatarogecko, which has also been preserved in amber.
The preserved foot shows that Cretaceogekko already possessed the tiny lamellae or ridges on the toe pads that allow modern geckos to cling to vertical surfaces. Cretaceogekko had a striped skin pattern that probably served as camouflage.