Chap. IX.] 



THE GECKO. 



281 



species ; and Dr. Gray concurring in this opinion, they 

 have done me the honour to call it Ceratophora Ten- 

 nentii. Its "horn" somewhat resembles the comb of a 

 cock not only in its internal structure, but also in its 

 external appearance ; it is nearly six lines long by two 

 broad, slightly compressed, soft, flexile, and extensible, 

 and covered with a corrugated, granular skin. It bears 

 no resemblance to the depressed rostral hump of Lyrio- 

 cephalus, and the differences of the new species from 

 the latter lizard may be easily seen from the annexed 

 drawing and the notes given below. 1 



Geckoes. — The most familiar and attractive of the 

 lizard class are the Geckoes 2 , that frequent the sitting- 

 rooms, and being furnished with pads to each toe, they are 

 enabled to ascend perpendicular walls and adhere to glass 

 and ceilings. Being nocturnal in their habits, the pupil of 

 the eye, instead of being circular as in the diurnal species, 

 is linear and vertical like that of the cat. As soon as 

 evening arrives, the geckoes are to be seen in every house 

 in keen and crafty pursuit of their prey ; emerging from 

 the chinks and recesses where they conceal themselves 



1 The specimen in the British of the neck. The scales on the 



Museum is apparently an adult belly, on the extremities, and on 



male, ten inches long, and is, with the tail are slightly keeled. Tail 



regard to the distribution of the nearly round. This species is more 



scales and the form of the head, uniformly coloured than C. Stod- 



very similar to C. Stoddartii. The dartii ; it is greenish, darker on the 



posterior angles of the orbit are sides. 



not projecting, but there is a small 2 Hemidactylus maculatus, Bum. 



tubercle behind them ; and a pair et Bib., H. Leschenaultii, Bum, 



of somewhat larger tubercles on et Bib ; H. frenatus, Schlegel. Of 



the neck. The gular sac is absent, these the last is very common in 



There are five longitudinal quad- the houses of Colombo. Colour, 



rangular, imbricate scales on each grey ; sides with small granules ; 



side of the throat ; and the sides of thumb short; chin-shields four; 



the body present a nearly horizontal tail rounded with transverse series 



series of similar scales. The scales of small spines ; femoral and 



on the median line of the back preanal pores in a continuous line, 



scarcely form a crest; it is, how- Gray, Lizards, p. 155. 

 ever, more distinct on the nape 



