GECKO. REPTILES. 349 



disc, striated across below ; claws much hooked ; tail uniform- 

 ly shagreened with small scales ; a gular pouch in the great- 

 er number ; teeth edged and dentated as in the preceding 

 genus, and small ones on the palate. 



This genus has the faculty of changing colour almost equal to the Chameleon ; 

 and their false ribs form circles as in the preceding. The skin of the tail forms slight 

 folds, of which each comprehends circular rows of scales. 



* Tail crested. 



A. principalisj Cuv. Body bluish-black, with a crest on the half 

 of the tail supported by five rays composed of the spinous apo- 

 physes of the vertebrae ; gular pouch extending under the belly. 

 A foot long. Inhabits Jamaica Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 42. 



A. bimaculatus, Cuv. Body greenish j spotted with brown towards 

 the snout and upon the sides, and a black spot upon each shoul- 

 der. 6 inches long. Inhabits S. America Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 43. 



** Tail rounded. 

 A. bullaris, Cuv. Body greenish ; muzzle short, spotted with brown ; 



eyelids projecting. Inhabits S. America. Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 43. 



This is a small animal, and when enraged its gular pouch becomes as red as a 

 cherry. It changes colours too with great facility. 



FAMILY IV. GECKOTTD.E. 

 Gen. 22. GECKO, Daud. Ascalabotes, Cuv. 

 Body flattened, particularly the head ; eyes large ; tongue fleshy 

 and not extensible ; jaws furnished with a row of very small 

 and close-set teeth ; skin shagreened above with small scales, 

 and often tubercles, below with smaller, flat, and imbricated 

 ones; tail with circular folds ; toes widened in all their length, 

 or at the extremity, with the skin folded or scaly. 



The species of this numerous genus are found in the warmer parts of both con- 

 tinents. They are dull and heavy- looking animals, and the structure of their feet 

 enables them to walk on perpendicular surfaces and even ceilings. Sir Everard 

 Home, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1816, has demonstrated the peculiar 

 mechanism by which this is effected. The claws vary according to the species, and 

 are entirely wanting in some. Cuvier divides this genus into five sections or sub- 

 genera. 



1. PLATYDACTYLI. Toes widened throughout, and furnished be- 

 low with transverse scales. 



Some of the species of this section want nails, and their thumb is very small ; and 

 others want the femoral pores. 



G. inunguis, Cuv. Body violet above, white below ; with a black 

 line upon the sides. Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 46. 



G. ocellatus, Oppel. Body gray, covered with ocellated spots, white 

 in the middle. Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 46. 



G. Cepediensis, Peron. Body black-coloured, marbled with blue, and 

 a white line along each side ; femoral pores distinct. Inhabits 

 Isle of France. Cuv. Reg. An. ii. 46. 



Gr.fascicularis, Daud. (L. Mauritania, Lin.) Common Gecko. 



