2472 SCALED REPTILES 



presence of some large shields on the under surface of the tail. Measuring not 

 more than four inches in length, this species may be distinguished from the other 

 European geckoes by the body being covered with from fourteen to sixteen longi- 

 tudinal rows of warts, of which some are white and others blackish, and likewise 

 by the hue of the upper parts being grayish brown spotted with flesh color. It is, 

 however, said to be able to change its color according to circumstances, being of a 

 shining milky white at night, and dark colored during the daytime. The genus to 

 which it belongs comprises over thirty species, ranging over Southern Europe and 

 Asia, Africa, tropical America, and Oceania. 



A larger and more remarkable species is the one represented in the 

 " n ^ e . preceding illustration (Ptychozoum homalocephalum) , which is the sole 



member of a genus characterized by the presence of an expansion of 

 skin along the sides of the body, continued as lobes on the tail, as well as by the 

 toes being completely webbed, and the inner one devoid of a claw. Attaining a 

 length of nearly eight inches, this species has a distinctly ringed tail; its color 

 above being grayish or reddish brown, marked with undulating dark brown trans- 

 verse bands, and a dark streak extending from the eye to the first of the bands on 

 the back. This gecko is an inhabitant of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay 

 Peninsula. 



The last member of the family we shall specially notice is the wall 



gecko (Tarentola mauritanica] , which is the Mediterranean represent- 

 ative of a small genus ranging from the countries bordering the Mediterranean to 

 West Africa, and including one West- Indian species. The genus is readily recog- 

 nized by all the toes being dilated, and only the third and fourth furnished with 

 claws. This species varies from rather less than five to somewhat more than six 

 inches in length, of which one-half is formed by the tail. The sides of the neck 

 and body, as well as the upper surface of the limbs, are ornamented with conical 

 tubercles; the back carries seven or nine longitudinal rows of larger and strongly- 

 keeled tubercles, and on the anterior half of the tail the ornamentation takes the 

 form of knobs with backwardly-directed spines. The general color of the upper 

 parts is grayish brown, with more or less distinct lighter and darker marblings, 

 while a well-marked dark streak passes on each side of the head through the eye. 



With the exception of a certain number of species, the geckoes, as 



already said, are nocturnal in their habits, and many are remarkable 

 for uttering shrill cries, probably produced by striking the tongue against the 

 palate, which in some cases are compared to the syllables yecko, checko, or toki, and 

 in others to the monosyllable tok. A South-African sand gecko is at times stated to 

 occur in such numbers, and to produce such a din by its cry, as to render a sojourn 

 in the neighborhood well-nigh insupportable. As regards their habitat, geckoes are 

 very variable, some frequenting arid deserts, where they, in some instances, burrow 

 in the sand; others frequent wooded regions, living either among low bushes or on 

 trees, and concealing themselves during the day beneath stones or the bark of the 

 stems; others again are found among rocks; while a third group has elected to live 

 among human dwellings, where some of its members have become as fearless and 

 confiding as domesticated animals. Of the arboreal species, the frilled gecko is 



