Muscular System.-The muscles of the Geckotida are highly irritable, as might be expected in such nimble creatures. Their power of adhering to smooth surfaces makes it necessary that the resistance produced by the adhesion should be instantaneously overcome in case of danger; and we accordingly find that a Gecko which at one moment is fixed motionless to a spot, vanishes as it were in the next from under the hand stretched forth to capture it.

The brain and nervous system are considerably developed in the Geckotida, and the greater part of the senses are acute. Sight. The orbits, as we have seen, are large and without any flooring or base, and as the eye in this family is very large in proportion to the size of the animal, the projection of the posterior part of the globe may be seen in the inside of the mouth much in the same way as is observable in some fishes. There is scarcely any lid, and what there is is so small that an additional appearance of prominence is given to the eyeball. This lid is simple, circular, and adherent to the globe of the eye by an internal fold. There is a nictitating membrane. Most persons have seen that an epidermic scale which seems to be the external layer of the cornea comes off in serpents with the rest of the skin, and in the Geckos also the integument passes over the front of the eyeball. The eye in such animals never appears humid. M. Jules Cloquet has shown that in the serpents the tears probably are diffused between the epidermic scale and cornea in order to arrive at the nostrils. The pupil is sometimes rounded, but most frequently presents a linear slit, the edges of which are fringed, so that the animal can at its pleasure dilate or diminish the opening through which the light and the images are to be admitted to the retina. Like the Cats therefore, the Geckos, though said to be nocturnal in their habits, can also see perfectly well in broad daylight. Hearing. The auditory apertures in this family are sometimes in the form of slits, sometimes in that of oval or circular holes, and the edges are often rounded and sometimes dentilated. Wagler states that these apertures can be closed in Ptyodactylus and Spheriodactylus, and it is extremely probable that the rims have a power of approximation generally. The tympanum lies deep, and the auditory cavity communicates with the back of the mouth or throat for the admission of air, as in most pulmoniferous animals. M. Duméril says, that he has proved the sensibility of these animals to the least noises, and that their sense of hearing is very fine.

Smell. The structure of the nostrils in this family would not lead to the conclusion that their sense of smelling is very acute, though it is probably more highly developed than it is in the Frogs.

Taste.-The Geckotida swallow their prey living, or nearly so, and almost entire, but the presence and form of the teeth render it probable that they can masticate; and this power, combined as it is with the form and structure of the tongue, which is soft, moveable, very fleshy, and furnished with papillæ, seems to indicate a certain degree of the sense of taste.

Touch and Integuments.-The skin of the Geckos is generally delicate, and adheres but little to the muscles, from which it is easily detached. In the middle of the back, and sometimes on the sides, granular tubercles rounded on their edges, with others which project at the centre, and are even fashioned into facets, are to be detected in the greater number. When the skin is detached and held up to the light it is seen to be regularly furnished with small delicate rounded escutcheon-like bodies, set in the thickness of the skin. The form and distribution of these bodies vary according to the different species in the regions of the belly, of the neck, of the thighs, of the head, and of the tail. M. Duméril, who gives us this information, goes on to state that generally the skin of the Geckotida is gray or yellowish, but that there are species in which lively colours are disposed on some parts of their bodies, and that it is even said that tints of red, blue, and yellow may be distinguished, which the animal causes to appear and disappear nearly after the manner of the chameleons. Some travellers assured Wagler that certain Indian Geckos became luminous or phosphorescent during the night.

In some of the species the skin is prolonged on the sides of the body and tail into membranes regularly festooned or fringed, and the Geckos generally moult or change their skins at certain periods of the year, when their colours, as is usual in such cases, become brighter. M. Duméril says that he has himself observed this in living individuals captured in their wild state at Cordova, in Spain, in the middle of the summer. There can be little doubt that there is considerable sensibility where the skin is constructed as it is in the Geckos; but in considering the sense of touch, the curious organisation of the feet and toes demands our particular attention. These are the great organs of station or fixation and progression, and the manner in which they perform their office is very interesting. M. Duméril, after referring to Wagler's reflections on this subject in his remarks on the Platyglossi, gives his own observations on this part of the organisation of the Geckos. He refers to the comparative shortness and general structure of the feet above given, and then proceeds to notice the particular conformation of the toes in the greatest number of species. The lower surface of these, and the sole, are very much dilated, widened, and furnished with small plates or lamellæ, following or overlying each other (lamelles placées en recouvrement) in a regular manner, but in a mode which varies in the different species. The nails, which are sometimes wanting on all the toes, are most

frequently pointed, hooked, and more or less retractile, constituting a sort of claws, which remain constantly sharp. The toes are sometimes united at their base, and, as it were, semipalmated. In some of the species, Ptyodactylus and Spheriodactylus of Cuvier, for instance, the extremity of the toes expands, and widens considerably in form of a fan or semi-disc, as in the Tree-Frogs.

The membranous and soft plates with which the lower surface of the toes of the Geckos are furnished present a variety of modifications in the different genera. Sometimes they are simple, or continued from one edge to the other, and those of this class offer distinctions in the furrows themselves, and in the curves described by the lines which mark them; sometimes they are separated longitudinally by a groove; sometimes they are complete or continued throughout the length; sometimes they exist on the last phalanges only; and lastly, in the aberrant genera they are hardly distinct. The modifications of this curious apparatus, as well as the absence or presence of the nails, afford the leading characters on which herpetologists have esta blished the different genera, and we here present the various forms collected by M. Duméril.

marked with the numeral only, represents the foot: the figure marked with the Form and structure of the under part of the toes of Geckotida. The figure added letter a, represents the structure of the lower part of the toe. 2, Platydactylus Cepedianus; 3, Platydactylus Egyptiacus; 4, Platydactylus guttatus (Gecko verus, Common Gecko, of Gray); 5, Platydactylus homalocephalus (Ptychozoon, of Kuhl; Pteropleura, of Gray); 6, Platydactylus Leachianus (Ascalabotes Leachianus; Griff., Anim. King."); 7, Hemidactylus Oualensis (Peropus, of Wiegmann); 8, Hemidactylus triedrus.

·

figure, with the exception of 7, b, which represents a claw in profile. 2, ThecoThe numerals and letters indicate the same parts as they do in the uppe dactylus Theconyz; 3, Piyodactylus Hasselquistii (P. guttatus, of Rüppell, House-Gecko, Griff. Anim. King."); 4, Ptyodactylus fimbriatus (Gecko fimbriatus of authors; Fimbriated Gecko, Griff., Anim. King."); 5, Phyllodactylus porphyreus; 6, Gymnodactylus scaber (Stenodactylus scaber of Rüppell; Cyrtodactylus, of Gray!); 7, Gymnodactylus pulchellus (Gonyodactylus pulchellus of Wagler; Oyrtodactylus pulchellus, of Gray); 7, 6 represents a claw of the animal seen in profile.

Digestive System.-The numerous teeth of the Geckos are similar in form and length, placed on the same line, and fixed in a longitu

dinal furrow on the internal edge of the jaw by the external surface of their roots. The enamelled crowns are cutting, and their base is rounded. From their position in the jaw, Wagler has derived his designation Pleurodonts, the teeth being attached laterally while they are free internally, or in the furrow destined for their reception. In the greater number the crown increases from above downwards. These teeth are so closely set that they seem to touch each other, and altogether form a very trenchant dentilated blade, though not long enough for cutting up substances of any thickness, nor does the bite of the animal inflict a wound. The cesophagus is very wide, and M. Duméril notices an extraordinary appearance therein, when it is remembered that the part is not exposed to the light. In many species, both living and dead, which he examined, he found the interior of this canal strongly coloured with different but uniform shades, sometimes of an orange-yellow, but principally of a deep black. There is no distinct limit between the oesophagus and the stomach; the crop (jabot) is continuous, and the whole forms a kind of longitudinal sac, which appears to be suddenly narrowed at the point corresponding to the pylorus, which is not to be detected except by this diminution of diameter and its position on the free and lower edge of the liver. The intestine is arranged in sinuous folds, and about three times the length of the œsophagus and ventriculus taken together, it turns to the left, and is lost on the side of a true and large cæcum, furnished with an appendage, and terminating by a large tube which has its opening in the cloaca. The triangular liver is placed in the mesial line, but its upper angle is so much elongated, that in some species it forms a conical point, at least twice as long as the base. This point lies in front of the stomach in the space left by the two lungs when they are filled with air. Below, the liver enlarges, and is divided into many lobes or indistinct strips, with the exception of that on the left, which is longest. The gall-bladder is situated under the mesial lobe. M. Duméril states that there does not appear to be a pancreas, but he observed in the Common Gecko and in the Fimbriated Gecko (Ptyodactylus fimbriatus) a very small spleen situated on the left side of the stomach. Circulating System.-The shape of the heart varies. In the Common Gecko it is large and flat, but has nevertheless a tolerably regular conical form, the point of the cone being below, and the base, which is slightly notched, leaning on the root of the two lungs. In the Fimbriated Gecko, on the contrary, M. Duméril states the heart to be proportionally smaller, and apparently formed of three distinct but approximated portions, the two upper rounded and oval, resembling auricles, and the other and lower portions small and conical. He acknowledges that he has not followed out the vascular system, but presumes that it resembles in its distribution that of the other Saurians.

Respiratory System, and Organ of Voice. The glottis consists of a longitudinal slit with two large lips, which form a sort of tubercle behind the posterior notched portion of the tongue, the movements of which it follows, and can consequently be lifted up and applied to the concavity of the palate. The trachea is very large, and the rings, which are cartilaginous anteriorly but membranous on the side next to the oesophagus, cause it to be considerably flattened. The lungs form two sacs, as in the Salamanders, and are nearly equal in volume and length. Their internal cavity is simple, but there are polygonal cellules on their internal membranous linings, and in the lines forming these the arterial and venous vessels are ramified. The Geckotida are without any goître, and M. Duméril is unable to account for the production of the voice, but he inquires whether the cry which they emit, and which is supposed to be in some degree imitated by their names of 'Gecko,' 'Geitje,' &c., may not be assisted by the movements of the tongue, and its reception in the concavity of the palate; analogous, we suppose, to the production of the sound with which a coachman or groom stimulates his horses by applying the tongue to the upper part of the mouth and suddenly withdrawing it.

Urinary and Genital Organs.-There is no urinary bladder, nor do the rounded kidneys, whose ureters are not long and open directly into the cloaca, require particular notice. The organs of generation in the males (which are smaller, more agile, and more brightly coloured than the females) are double, and lodged on each side of the base of the tail, which has consequently a swollen appearance. The eggs, which are often deposited between stones, are quite round, with a rather solid, slightly rough, calcareous shell, of a uniform dirty white. M. Duméril has seen these eggs produce the young ones, which were well-formed and very nimble.

The author last named states that he has observed in many species gome peculiar organs, sometimes double, sometimes united in a single flattened elongated mass under the abdominal parietes in front of the pubis, in place of a urinary bladder. They appeared to be of a fatty nature, and were sustained in one part by the os pubis, and on the other possessed vascular or membranous single or double prolongations, rising in the thickness of the peritoneum as far as the liver. Though he knows not the office of these organs, he thinks it probable that they may be destined to afford nourishment to the animal in a state of hybernation. The pores of the thighs, &c. secrete a thick humor; and M. Duméril observes that these pores afford no generic character.

The Geckotida are none of them large in size, and the greatest number feed on small animals, such as insects, their larvæ and pupæ. These they catch either by lying in ambush or by pursuing their feeble prey in the holes and dark crevices to which it retires. The structure of their feet enables them to run in every direction over the smoothest surfaces, and they can even remain suspended beneath the large leaves which a luxuriant tropical vegetation so frequently puts forth. The sharp and retractile nails with which the feet of the greater number are armed, enable them to cling to and make rapid progress on trees with the smoothest bark, to penetrate the holes of rocks, and to climb walls. Of sombre or varying colours adapted generally to the locality where their lot is cast, they will often remain for hours in positions as extraordinary as the flies and insects for which they watch, the wonderful apparatus with which their feet is furnished enabling them to overcome the general law of gravity, and without which they would instantly fall to the earth. The hues of their skins thus render them less objects of suspicion to the little animals for which they lie in wait, and also serve to dodge even the acute eye of the bird of prey that seeks to destroy them. Their eyes, as we have seen, enable them to discern objects in the dark, and are at the same time capable of bearing the rays of a bright sun; for many insects are nocturnal or crepuscular, while the great mass of them are diurnal. The pursuit of their prey leads them near the habitations of man, whose dwelling always attracts certain kinds of insects, and they sometimes fall victims to their appearance, which frequently inspires terror, and often disgust. A Gecko, confident in his powers of flight, appears boldly to await his adversary, and his sudden disappearance at a nearer approach adds to the horror which his uncouth form inspires. The poor Geckos too have a bad name. They are supposed to poison whatsoever they touch, be it animate or inanimate, and their saliva is said to vex the skin of those on whom it falls with foul eruptions. Many of these cuticular irritations, when they have actually existed from the intervention of these animals, may have arisen from the extremely sharp claws of a Gecko running over a sleeping man, or small blisters may have been raised by the adherent apparatus at the bottom of its feet. The Geckotida are found in all the four quarters of the globe, and are widely distributed in warm climates. In this distribution, Europe, as far as observation has yet gone, claims by far the fewest number. Two species only have yet been found in this quarter of the globe, and even these are common to the northern coasts of Africa. Prince C. L. Bonaparte has noticed them in the 'Fauna Italica,' under the names of Ascalabotes Mauritanicus and Hemidactylus triedrus. The former is a Platydactylus of Duméril and others.

Systematic Arrangement. There can be little doubt that the 'Aσkaλaßáτns of Aristotle and of the Greeks generally was a Gecko. Aristophanes and Theophrastus, as Gesner has shown, speak of those lizards which the Italians called Tarentola, whose bodies were short and thick, and which clambered about the walls in the interior of their edifices for the purpose of catching spiders, on which they fed, under the names of Ascalabotes and Galeotes. That the Stellio of Pliny was no other than a Gecko, Schneider has shown. Linnæus placed the Geckos under his great genus Lacerta, and recorded but three species (1766).

Laurenti (1768) seems to have been the first modern who established the Geckos as a genus. Gmelin (1789, 13th edit. of 'Syst. Nat.') introduced a section in the genus Lacerta, consisting of five species, under the name of Gekkones, and the term Gecko was used as a generic appellation for these Saurians by Lacépède (1790), Schneider (1797), Cuvier (1798), and Brongniart (1801).

Daudin (1803) divided the genus Gecko into three sections, taking for the basis of his division the number and connection of the toes, the form of the tail, and the disposition of the scales. These sections consisted of the Geckos properly so called, the Geckottes, and the Geckos with a flat tail. M. Duméril, who has written so much and so well on this subject, and to whose writings we are so much indebted, states that in 1806 he profited by the foregoing works, and established in the 'Zoologie Analytique,' and in his public lectures the genus Uroplatus (1806), and he says that Oppel, in his 'Prodromus' (1811), established the family Geckotida after his (Duméril's) indications. M. Duméril, who established also the genus Urotornus, adopts in great measure the system of Cuvier, and separates the Geckotide into two great divisions, each embracing subdivisions. These divisions take the structure of the toes for their basis; the first consisting of those Geckotida which have dilated toes, the second of those whose toes are not dilated. The subdivisions depend upon the variation in the structure of the lower part of the toes. The genera are—Ascalabotes, Platydactylus, Hemidactylus, Ptyodactylus, Thecadactylus, Stenodactylus, and Gymnodactylus (1836).

Cuvier (1817-1829) placed these Saurians under his great genus Gecko, which he divided into the following sub-genera:-Platydactylus, Hemidactylus, Thecadactylus, Ptyodactylus, Sphæriodactylus; at the same time arranging those Geckos which have retractile claws, but slender or rather not enlarged toes, in three groups, under the names of Stenodactylus, Gymnodactylus, and Phyllura, the latter embracing those with a horizontally-flattened foliated tail.

Merrem (1820) places the Geckos in the first tribe (Gradientia) of

the class Pholidoti. The sub-tribe Ascalabotes, according to him, embraces the Iguanida as well as Geckos.

M. Latreille (1801-1825) seems to have adopted the views and descriptions of Lacépède in the first instance, and not to have gone much beyond a change of nomenclature in the last work published by him. M. Fitzinger (1826) makes his Ascalabotoïds consist of the genera Sarrubus, Uroplatus, Ptyodactylus, Hemidactylus, Thecadactylus, Ptychozöon, Platydactylus, Ascalabotes, Stenodactylus, and Phyllurus. Dr. J. E. Gray (1827-1834) arranges the following genera under the family Geckotida:-Hemidactylus, Platydactylus, Gecko, Pteropleura, Thecadactylus, Ptyodactylus, Phyllurus, Eublepharis, Cyrtodactylus, Phyllodactylus, Diplodactylus, and Gehyra.

Wagler (1830), under the family name of Platyglossi, makes the Geckotida consist of the following genera :-Ptychozöon (Kuhl), Crossurus (Wagler-Uroplatus of Duméril in part), Rhacöessa (Waglerone of Duméril's Uroplati), Thecadactylus (Cuvier), Platydactylus (Cuvier), Anoplopus (Wagler), Hemidactylus (Cuvier), Plyodactylus (Cuvier), Sphæriodactylus (Cuvier), Ascalabotes (Lichtenstein), Eublepharis (Gray), Gonyodactylus (Kuhl), and Gymnodactylus (Spix).

Dr. Cocteau (1835) arranges the Geckos into six divisions:1, Platydactylus, containing five subdivisions, represented in part by Anoplopus of Wagler, Phelsuma (Cocteau), Pachydactylus (Wiegmann), Ptychozöon (Kuhl), and Pteropleura (Gray), with others resting principally upon the absence or presence of pores before the cloaca, and the development of the claws; 2, those Geckos which correspond to Thecadactylus of Cuvier; 3, Hemidactylus; 4, comprehending Ptyodactylus (Uroplatus, Duméril; Rhacöessa, Wagler; Crossurus, Wagler); 5, Sphæriodactylus, comprehending Diplodactylus (Gray) and Phyllodactylus (Gray); 6, Stenodactylus (Eublepharis, Gonyodactylus, Gymno dactylus, Cyrtodactylus, Pristurus, Phyllurus).

M. de Blainville (Nouvelles Annales du Muséum,' April, 1836) places the family of Geckos at the head of the family of Saurophians. The species forming the genus Platydactylus of Cuvier he designates as Geckos; those ranging under Hemidactylus as Demi-Geckos; the Ptyodactyli as Tiers-Geckos; the Stenodactyli as Quart-Geckos; and the Gymnodactyli as Sub-Geckos. The following cuts will convey an idea of the form of some of the Geckotida:

1, a

The following is a synopsis of the genera and a list of the species, as given in the British Museum Catalogue,' 1845 :—

Synopsis of the Genera of Geckotida.

I. Toes dilated, with 2 rows of membranaceous plates beneath, under the dilated part.

A. Last joint of the toes short, inflexed, sheathed in the notch between the front of the 2 series of plates. Claws 5-5.

a. Toes dilated, ovate, with 2 series of transverse equal plates beneath.

1. Thecadactylus.—Toes half webbed. Femoral pores none. Tail uniformly granular.

b. Toes linear, truncated, middle of the toes with 2 rows of square plates beneath, the 2 terminal plates larger.

2. Edura.-Tail subcylindrical, with square scales, unarmed. Toes all with 2 rows of small plates beneath.

3. Strophura.-Tail cylindrical, with 2 rows of spines above, tip revolute. The 2 middle toes with 2 rows, the rest with 1 row of plates beneath.

c Toes linear, truncated, middle of toes with a single series of plates beneath, 2 terminal plates larger.

4. Diplodactylus.-Terminal pair of toe-plates convex, rounded at the end. Back and tail granular, uniform.

5. Phyllodactylus.-Terminal pair of toe-plates thin, square at the end. Back and tail tubercular.

d. Toes slender, dilated at the end, with 2 diverging series of plates beneath.

7. Uroplates.-Toes webbed. Tail and sides of the head and body fringed.

8. Caudiverbera.-Toes webbed. Tail and back with a membranous crest.

B. Toes, last joint slender, compressed, elongate, produced, clawed, free from the dilated penultimate joints.

a. Thumb with a compressed clawed terminal joint, like the toes.

9. Hemidactylus.-Tail rather depressed, angular above, with cross rings of spines, lower edge simple. Toes free.

10. Velernesia.-Tail rather depressed, angular above, with cross rings of spines, lower edge denticulated. Toes half webbed. Skin of sides and limbs lax.

11. Doryura.-Tail depressed, uniformly granular, denticulated on the edge. Toes free. Sides and limbs simple. 12. Platyurus.-Tail depressed, uniformly granular, denticulated on the edge. Toes half webbed. Sides and limbs with a thin membranous expansion.

13. Leiurus.-Tail cylindrical, uniformly granular, tapering. Toes slightly webbed. Sides and limbs simple.

14. Crossurus.-Tail cylindrical, granular, with a festooned fringe on each side.

b. Thumb with a compressed, clawless, terminal joint.

15. Boltalia.-Toes free.

NAT. HIST. DIV. VOL. II.

(Duméril.)

25. Ptychozoon.-Toes webbed. Head, body, and tail with membranes on the side.

c. Claws 2-2. All but the two middle toes without any compressed last joint.

26. Tarentola.-Lower rostral shield very long.

d. Claws none.

Toes all without any compressed last joint. 27. Phelsuma.-Toes dilated, ovate. Tail rather contracted. 28. Pachydactylus-Toes slender, short, apex rather dilated. 29. Sphærodactylus.-Toes slender, with a single rounded disc at the tip.

D. Toes and thumbs clawed, slightly dilated below at the base, the two or three last joints compressed, angularly bent, the membranous plates beneath the toes transverse, smooth.

a. Toes rather thick, tapering. Tail round.

30. Naultinus.-Tail cylindrical, tapering, granular. Preanal pores in 2 or 3 cross series. Back granular. Eublepharis.-Tail cylindrical, ringed with cross series of tubercles. Back tubercular.

31.

32. Homonota.-Tail cylindrical, tapering, granular. Preanal pores none. Back scaly.

33. Pristurus.-Tail compressed, dentated above.

b. Toes elongate, slender, compressed, versatile, joints bent at angle.

34. Goniodactylus.—Tail round, tapering, granular. Scales granular. Preanal pores none.

35. Cyrtodactylus.-Tail round, tapering, with rings of tubercles. Back with rows of tubercles. Preanal pores in 2 parallel rows.

36. Heteronota.-Tail round, tapering, with rings of tubercles. Back tubercular. Preanal pores in an arched series.

3 P

Diplodactylus vittatus, the Yellow-Crowned Diplodactyle. Australia.

D. ornatus, the Beautiful Diplodactyle.

D. ocellatus, the Eyed Diplodactyle.

West Australia.

D. marmoratus, the Marbled Diplodactyle. Australia.

D. bilineatus, the Two-Lined Diplodactyle.

D. lineatus, the Lined Diplodactyle. Cape of Good Hope.

D. Gerhopygus, the Naked Diplodactyle.

Phyllodactylus pulcher, the Phyllodactyle.

P. tuberculatus, the Large-Tubercled Phyllodactyle.
Ptyodactylus Gecko, the Fan-Foot. Egypt.

Uroplates fimbriatus, the Famocantrata. Madagascar.
U. lineatus, the Sharp-Tailed Famocantrata.
Caudiverbera Peruviana, the Caudiverbera. Peru.
Hemidactylus trihedrus, the Triangular-Tubercled Hemi-
dactyle.

H. maculatus, the Spotted Hemidactyle.

H. Brookii, Brooke's Hemidactyle.

H. depressus, the Groove-Tailed Hemidactyle.
H. verruculatus, the Warty Hemidactyle.
Mediterranean; Egypt.

H. fasciatus, the Banded Hemidactyle.

Shores of the

H. Mabouia, the Brazilian Hemidactyle. Brazil.

H. mercatorius, the Wandering Hemidactyle.

H. frenatus, the Streaked Hemidactyle. Ceylon.
H. Leschenaultii, Leschenault's Hemidactyle. Ceylon.
H. vittatus, the Streaked-Cheeked Hemidactyle. Borneo.
H. Bellii, Bell's Hemidactyle.

H. Peruvianus, Wiegmann's Hemidactyle. Peru.
Velernesia Richardsonii, the Velernesia.
Doryura Bowringii, Bowring's Hemidactyle.

D. Garnotii, Garnot's Doryure. South Sea Islands.

Platyurus Schneiderianus, the Platyure. Java.

Leiurus ornatus, the Banded Leiurus. West Africa.

Crossurus caudiverbera, the Crossurus.

Pachydactylus ocellatus, the Eyed Gecko. Cape of Good
Hope.

P. maculatus, the Spotted Pachydactyle. South Africa.
P. elegans, the Elegant Pachydactyle. South Africa.
Sphærodactylus sputator, the Banded Sphærodactyle. South
America.

S. punctatissimus, the Lined Sphærodactyle. Martinique.
S. fantasticus, the Black-Headed Sphærodactyle. South
America.

S. nigropunctatus, the Black-Dotted Sphærodactyle. South
America.

S. Richardsonii, Richardson's Sphærodactyle. America.
Naultinus pacificus, the Pacific Naultinus. New Zealand.
N. elegans, the Kakariki. New Zealand.
N. Grayii, the Long-Toed Kakariki.

New Zealand.
N. punctatus, the Black-Dotted Kakariki. New Zealand.
Eublepharis Hardwickii, Hardwick's Eublepharis. Penang;
Chittagong.

Homonota Guidichaudi, Guidichaud's Scaled Gecko. Chili. Pristurus flavipunctatus, Ruppell's Pristurus. Abyssinia. Goniodactylus Timorensis, Boie's Angular-Toed Lizard. India.

G. Australis, the Australian Angular-Toed Lizard. Australia.

G. alboangularis, the White-Throated Angular-Toed Lizard.
South America.

G. ocellatus, the Eyed Angular-Toed Lizard. Tobago.
G. Mauritanicus, the Algerine Angular-Toed Lizard.
Cyrtodactylus marmoratus, the Marbled Cyrtodactyle. Java.
Philippine Islands.

C. pulchellus, the Beautiful Cyrtodactyle. Singapore.
Heteronota Kendallii, the Bornean Heteronote. Borneo.
H. Binoei, the Australian Heteronote.

Cubina fasciata, the Banded Cubina. Martinique.

C. D'Orbignii, D'Orbigny's Cubina. Chili.

Gymnodactylus Geckoides, the Gymnodactyle. Shores of the
Mediterranean.

Phyllurus platurus, White's Phyllure. Australia.
P. Milinsii, the Thick-Tailed Phyllure.

P. inermis, the Spineless Phyllure.

Australia.

Boltalia sublavis, the Boltalia. India.

Water

G. Chinensis, the Japan Gecko. China and Japan.

G. Monarchus, the Amboyna Gecko. Borneo.

G. Smithii, Dr. A. Smith's Gecko. Prince of Wales Island.

G. vittatus, the Streaked Gecko. Cape of Good Hope.

G. bivittatus, the Double-Streaked Gecko.
Amydosaurus lugubris, the Sombre Gecko.
Gehyra oceanica, the Oceanic Gehyra.

Pacific.

G. Australis, the Swan River Gehyra. Swan River.
Lyperosaurus Cumingii, the Luperosaure.

Ptychozoon homalocephala, the Fringed Tree-Gecko. Java.
Tarentola Mauritania, the Tarentola. Egypt.
T. Egyptiaca, the Egyptian Tarentola. Egypt.

T. Delalandii, Laland's Tarentola. Madeira; West Coast of

Africa.

Amongst the component parts of all organised bodies the most frequent is the cell. Modified in an infinite variety of ways, it gives rise to the innumerable varieties exhibited both by plants and animals, in the external form, the structure, and consequently the functions of their organs. In the vegetable kingdom the substance employed in the construction of these cells is cellulose combined with a little protein. In the animal kingdom it is gelatin. The case is very similar, although the elementary form of the tissue and its chemical characters are different. In animals we must distinguish between the persistent and the original cellular substance. The original in all probability varies in different cases, while the persistent exhibits a constant and general character. The persistent tissue is consequently a secondary product, and in this respect differs from the cellular substance in plants, which is a primary or original one; neither has it