San Diego zoo’s first baby of the year: A gecko

A satanic leaf-tailed gecko hatchling, was the first baby of the year at the San Diego Zoo.

The New Year’s Day gecko has a sibling that hatched on December 26, but keepers do not yet know the sex of the younger geckos.

The San Diego Zoo is one of only seven zoos in the US with this species in its collection and one of only two breeding them.

Reptile keepers were thrilled with the hatching of the gecko, which weighs less than a gram and is smaller than a dime. It has a number 911001, but no name.

“It’s wonderful to be able to highlight this rarely bred creature,” said San Diego Zoo Animal Care Manager John Kinkaid. The San Diego Zoo has two male, three female and three young satanic leaf-tailed geckos in its collection. The satanic leaf-tailed gecko Uroplatus phantasticus, also known as the eyelash leaf-tailed gecko or fantastic leaf-tailed gecko, is native to Madagascar. It has the smallest body of any of leaf-tailed gecko species.