a b 
Fig. 4. Gekko scabridus sp. nov. a. Dorsal view of head; b. Ventral view of head. 
some specimens, by two scales, or in contact with each other medially; supralabials 9-11; infral- 
abials 9-11; mental pentagonal; chin shields longer than broad, median pair largest, outer pair rela- 
tively small, continuously graded to small granules through three to four rows of small hexagonal 
scales (Fig. 4). About 12 scales between nostril and eye; interorbital scales about 30; tubercles 
scattered among dorsal granular scales in high density, from frontal, parietal, temporal and occip- 
ital regions of head to base of tail, in 17-21 irregular rows around middle of body, those on dor- 
sum of body extremely enlarged; limbs covered with granular scales dorsally, tubercles present on 
limbs except for upper arms; tubercles on hindlimbs distinctly enlarged like those in dorsum of 
body; venter of body covered with imbricate scales; interdigital webbings rudimentary; underneath 
dilated portions of digits with lamellae, 6-9 on toe I, 6-9 on toe II, 7-9 on toe III, 7-9 on toe IV, 
and 7-10 on toe V; male with 10-15, mostly 12 or 13, preanal pores. 
Tail slightly compressed, with two or three enlarged spurs on each side at base; only one spec- 
imen (NNC 80166) of 51 examined had a single enlarged spur on both sides; dorsum of tail cov- 
ered with granular scales; annular grooves in about every seventh to ninth row of granules; 
grooves in proximal one third of tail margined by six to eight enlarged tubercles posteriorly, such 
tubercles gradually disappearing in remaining portion of tail; venter of tail covered with imbricate 
scales, median scales enlarged and irregularly arranged, paired or not paired, in distal two-thirds to 
four-fifths of tail. 
Dorsal ground color of preserved specimen pale brown; two brown bars from nostril through eye 
to temporal region; dorsal surfaces of head, body and limbs with irregular brown spots and reticu- 
lations; 7-9 transverse bars on neck and body; dorsum of tail with 10-14 transverse brown bars; 
venter of body light reddish yellow. 
G. scabridus closely resembles G. japonicus. However, these species differ from each other as 
follows. In G. japonicus, dorsal tubercles on the body and shanks are distinctly smaller than those 
in G. scabridus, and tubercles are normally lacking on thighs. Moreover, male G. japonicus nor- 
mally has only 4-8 preanal pores. 
In the natural habitat, G. scabridus occurs in very high densities, and is observed equally in 
lighted and dark areas of walls. Of the specimens examined, a few animals possessed parasitic 
