54 
R0QM x> Ornamented Gecko ( Gecko orncitus ), from New¬ 
foundland. All these have only a single trans¬ 
verse series of scales, on the under side of each 
toe. Hardwicke’s Gecko (. Eublephoris Hard- 
mckii) differs from the former, by the toes being 
more slender, and less dilated; one of the 
species, Horsfield’s Gecko (Pteropleura Hors - 
Jieldii ) which lives in the ponds in Java, has the 
skin on the side of the chin, body, limbs and 
tail dilated into a kind of fin. 
Many of the species of these Lizards, from 
their lurid appearance, are considered as poi¬ 
sonous by the natives of India, and some even 
assert that they infect every substance which 
they walk over, but this is, at least, extremely 
doubtful. 
Other species have the scales under the toes 
divided by a central grove, into which the claws 
are retractile ( Thecadactylus ). One of these, 
the Smooth Sheath-claw ( Gecko lcevis\ has many 
scales under the toes, and when the animal is 
caught, in its exertion to escape it often casts 
off its tail. It does the same if thrown alive 
into spirits, in which case the separated tail 
contracts, and assumes an almost globular 
shape, and is most usually found in this state in 
collections, whence this species has been gene¬ 
rally called the Turnip-tail Gecko ( Gecko rapi - 
cauda ). The Beautiful Sheath-claw ( Phtjllo - 
dactylus pulchellus ), has only two or three trans¬ 
verse 
