406 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Ser. 



Introduction 



In a previous paper^ I have given an account of the snakes 

 of the Galapagos Archipelago, and have attempted to trace 

 the history of these islands from the evidence afforded by this 

 group of their inhabitants. The present article is based upon 

 a similar investigation of the geckos of this region, under- 

 taken with a view to confirming or disproving the conclusions 

 reached in the earlier paper. 



The tortoises and the lizards of the family Iguanidae are 

 yet to be studied along the same lines. 



Origin and Relationship of the Galapagos Geckos 



Two genera of Gekkonidae, or the family of geckos, have 

 been recorded as inhabitants of the Galapagos Archipelago. 

 One of these, Gonatodes, has been found only by Dr. Baur, 

 whose collection included four or more specimens labeled 

 Wreck Bay, Chatham Island. No other collector has secured 

 this lizard in the Galapagos, although most careful search has 

 been made for it. It seems probable, therefore, that Dr. Baur's 

 specimens either had been recently introduced with the effects 

 of the colonists from the mainland, or were collected by Dr. 

 Baur at Guayaquil and erroneously labeled. From the stand- 

 point of zoogeography, however, the question is of little 

 importance, for if this lizard be native to the archipelago it 

 would merely afford one more bit of evidence of the close 

 relationship of the Galapagoan to the South American fauna. 

 Various species of Gonatodes have been reported from the 

 West Indies, South America, Australia, the East Indies, and 

 southern India. 



The second genus, Phyllodactylus, has even a wider range 

 in the tropical world. It has representatives in the Mediter- 

 ranean region. South Africa, Madagascar and other islands in 

 the Indian Ocean, southern Asia, Australia, Norfolk Island, 

 the New Hebrides, western South America, Central America, 

 Mexico, and the Antilles. In the Galapagos Archipelago it 

 has been found on Wenman, Chatham, Hood, Gardner-near- 



' Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 4th Ser. v. 1, (4) 1912. 



