Neal Grant wrote:
Hi gang,They have eyelids - they are simply difficult to see, they are fused and they do not move. Snakes have palpebrae (fancy word for eyelid) as embryos, these fuse and form the spetacle. This is a clear covering over the eye - excellent protection in the situations you describe above. Geckos do the same (well, not the eublepharines) but it is called a brille.
Just wondering, has anyone ever proposed a theory as to the "evolutionary advantage" of not having eyelids???
As a lot of geckos (and snakes I'm almost certain) live in warm, dry environments, and run about through rocks, brush, and trees, it seems like having an eye-lid would be pretty important...
When geckos are licking their eyes to clean them, they are not licking their corneas, they are licking the clear brille that overlies the cornea.
Keith
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