72 THE FRINGED TKEE GECKO. 



been compared to that peculiar clucking sound employed by riders to stimulate their 

 horses, and in some species the cry is very distinct and said to resemble the word Geck-o, 

 the last syllable being given smartly and sharply. On account of this cry, the Geckos 

 are variously called Spitters, Postilions, and Claqueurs. 



During the cold months of the year the Geckos retire to winter quarters, and are 

 thought to retain their condition during this foodless season by means of two fatty masses 

 at the base of the abdomen, which are supposed to nourish them as the camel is nourished 

 by the hump. The male is smaller than the female, and the eggs are very spherical, and 

 covered with a brittle chalky shell. The colour of the Gecko is reddish grey with white 

 spots. The scales of the back are flat and smooth, and there is also a series of rather 

 large tubercular projections arranged in twelve rather distinct rows. 



CLOSELY allied to these two reptiles is the SPOTTED GECKO, or SPOTTED HEMIDACTYLE, 

 a rather pretty species of Gecko found in various parts of Asia, and tolerably common in 

 India, China, and Ceylon. Sir Emerson Tennent, in his valuable work on Ceylon, gives 

 a very interesting account of this little creature, and relates two curious anecdotes, 

 exhibiting the readiness with which even a Gecko can be tamed by kind treatment. 



" In a boudoir where the ladies of my family spent their evenings, one of these 

 familiar and amusing little creatures had its hiding place behind a gilt picture-frame, and 

 punctually as the candles were lighted, it made its appearance on the wall to be fed with 

 its accustomed crumb ; and if neglected, it reiterated its sharp quick call of chic-chic-chit, 

 till attended to. It was of a delicate grey colour, tinged with pink, and having by 

 accident fallen on a work-table, it fled, leaving its tail behind it, which, however, it 

 reproduced within less than a month. This faculty of reproduction is doubtless designed 

 to enable the creature to escape from its assailants ; the detaching of the limb is evidently 

 its own act. 



In an officer's quarters in the fort of Colombo, a Gecko had been taught to come daily 

 to the dinner-table, and always made its appearance along with the dessert. The family 

 were absent for some months, during which the house underwent extensive repairs, the roof 

 having been raised, the walls stuccoed, and ceilings whitened. It was naturally surmised 

 that so long a suspension of its accustomed habits would have led to the disappearance 

 of the little Lizard, but on the return of its old friends, at their first dinner it made 

 its entrance as ^^sual the instant the cloth had been removed." 



ANOTHER rather curious species is the TURNIP-TAILED GECKO (Thecaddctylus rapi* 

 caudus), so called from the odd shape of its tail, which, when reproduced, is very 

 much swollen at the base, and, with its little conical extremity, has an almost absurd 

 resemblance to a young turnip. It is worthy of mention, that all the Geckos possess the 

 faculty of reproducing their tails when those members have been lost by some accident, 

 and that the second tail is mostly very unlike the original. Before the creature has 

 suffered (if it does suffer) this mutilation, the tail is covered with scales of the same 

 structure and form as those of the back ; but when the tail is reproduced, it is generally 

 supplied with little squared scales arranged in cross series. In examining a Gecko 

 therefore, it is necessary to ascertain whether the tail be in its normal condition or only 

 a second and altered edition of that member. 



The colour of the Turnip- tailed Gecko is brown, mottled boldly with a darker tint, 

 and speckled with tiny dots of dark brown. The scales of the back are six-sided, and on 

 each side of the base of the tail there is a prominent conical tubercle. This species 

 inhabits Tropical America. 



THE very remarkable reptile which is figured in the accompanying illustration, is a 

 native of Java. 



The FRINGED TREE GECKO, or SMOOTH-HEADED GECKO, is especially worthy of notice 

 on account of the broad membranous expansions which fringe the sides of the head, 

 back, limbs, and tail. On the body this membrane is covered with scales, and waved on 

 its edges, but on the tail the waves become suddenly deepened, so as to form bold 



