THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



247 



Some Little Known Lizards 



The Geckos. 



By J. R, KiNGHORN. 



MANY species of geckos are variously 

 known throughout Austraha as 

 Rock Adders, Rock Scoq^ions, 

 Wood Adders, as well as other frightful 

 misnomers freely given by persons who 

 are afraid of them, and who can relate 

 highly coloured stories concerning their 

 supposed poisonous properties. Many 

 readers, therefore, will doubtless be 

 surprised when they are informed that 

 all geckos are harmless and inoffen- 

 sive. These little creatures appear to 



the father of leprosy. In spite of all 

 these myths, science has proved, and 

 most people now know, that the gecko 

 does not possess any fangs, poison 

 a})paratus, or venom, nor does it secrete 

 any irritant mucus. It might be as 

 well to mention here that there is only 

 one genus of venomous lizard in the 

 world, and that is the Gila Monster 

 (Heloderma) of Central America. 

 Throughout Australia we have over 

 sixty species of geckos, and it would be 



Broad-tailed Gecko (Gymnodactylus platurus). 



[Photo. — J. R. Kinghorn. 



have given rise to a greater number of 

 fables and legends than have any other 

 animals. So great is the fear of them 

 among some native races that they are 

 referred to as devils ; they are almost 

 worshipped as such, and the natives 

 will not kill them for fear of possible 

 consequences following on the death of 

 one. In Egypt they were once widely 

 known as " Abou burs," which means 



hard to determine which is the most 

 common, but the accompanying illus- 

 trations may be relied upon to represent 

 the two most typical forms, the broad, 

 or leaf-tailed, and the cylindrical- 

 tailed varieties. 



The reason they are seldom seen is 

 that they are nocturnal in habits, living 

 under loose bark or stones during the 

 daytime, coming forth at night-time 



