The Reptiles of the National Pari 
By Herbert M. Hale 
THE reptiles are by no means the most conspicuous denizens 
of our national parks. Although their presence is usually 
unsuspected, however, we hnd that representatives of most of 
the groups known to occur in South Australia are found on 
these reserves. 
Fig. 21. — The Barking Lizard (Gymnodactylus milinsii). 
The soft-bodied, harmless little lizards, known as Geckoes, 
spend most of the daylight in hiding, although a beautifully 
marked species, the large-eyed “Barking-gecko” ( Gymnodactylus 
miliusii) is occasionally seen wandering about during the day, 
particularly near water. The tail of this gecko is wide and 
leaf-like. Another common species is the Mottled-gecko 
{Per opus variegatus ) . This little lizard does not exceed five 
inches in length and is often found under the bark of our big 
gums; another small gecko found under bark is the Marbled- 
gecko ( Phyllodactylus marmoratus ) . Most geckoes are able to 
throw off their fat tails at will when alarmed or attacked by 
enemies; the detached tail wriggles and jerks actively for some 
minutes, thus attracting the attention of an aggressor, while the 
rest of the lizard creeps quietly away. Apart from protecting 
its owner in such times of stress, the large tail apparently serves 
as a reserve larder during lean periods, for when food is abundant 
the tail becomes very fat, but shrinks when times are bad. 
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