OCR Text |
Show 130 ON THE GECKOS OF NEW CALEDONIA. [Mar. 6, between the eye and the ear-opening, about once and two fifths the diameter of the orbit; forehead concave ; ear-opening small, roundish. Body short, depressed ; limbs moderate. Head covered with very small granular scales ; rostral subquadrangular, not twice as broad as high, with median division superiorly ; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first upper labial, two small nasals, and two or three granules ; seven or eight upper, and as many lower labials; mental very large, triangular, pentagonal or trapezoid, extending considerably beyond the adjacent labials, generally with a pair of chin-shields posteriorly; no other chin-shields. Upper surfaces covered with very small granules ; back with 16 to 20 longitudinal series of round, subcorneal, distinctly ribbed tubercles; these series regular, equidistant, the tubercles generally very close together, forming lines ; hind limbs with similar irregularly scattered tubercles. Gular scales minute, granular; abdominal scales very small, imbricate, keeled. Males generally with a very short, A-shaped series of praeanal pores, seven or eight altogether. Tail cylindrical, tapering, generally with very small uniform keeled scales, occasionally intermixed with large tubercles. Brown, lighter beneath ; back and limbs with more or less distinct darker transverse markings ; generally a dark streak from the eye to the ear-opening. millim. Total length 125 Head 18 Width of head 12 Body 42 Fore limb 19 Hind limb 29 Tail 65 This Gecko occurrs from New Guinea and Cape York, throughout the Pacific Islands to New Zealand. The British Museum possesses a specimen from the Loyalty Islands. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. PLATE XXI. Pig. 1. Rhacodactylus chahoua, upper view of head. 1 a. , profile of head. 1 b. , lower view of head. 1 c , lower view of posterior part of body, thighs, and tail. 1 d. , lower view of foot. 2. trachyrhynchus, upper view of head. 2 a. , profile of head. 2 b. , lower view of head. 2 c. , lower view of posterior part of body, thighs, aud base of tail. 2d. , lower view of foot. All the figures are of the natural size. P L A T E XXII. Fig. 1. Hemidactylus garnoti, lower view of foot, magnified 2 diameters. 1 a. , lateral view of fourth toe, magnified 2 diam. |