These little geckos are all over the roads most of the year and it’s easy to forget how cool they are and get out of the car to chase them around to get some pictures. This is a Western Banded Gecko, Coleonyx variegatus, one of the only geckos with eyelids. Their skin is covered with tiny round scales and feels so soft it’s hard to tell where the air ends and the lizard begins. As the title also implies, they’re probably the number one smashed critter on Arizona highways in the summer.

Tags: arizona lizards, cole, roadkill, western banded gecko