Common Name
Cascade gecko or Cascades forest gecko
Scientific Name
Mokopirirakau sp. 'Cascades'
Etymology
The tag name 'Cascade' was originally applied as a reference to the second location from which the species was collected, the Cascade Plateau, but because the species also occurs in areas with extreme rainfall and cascading waterfalls in Fiordland, the term also suited. An earlier name, 'Esperance Valley gecko' was a reference to the first collection locality. From 1981 known as H. granulatus (part) (Thomas 1981, Whitaker 1984). During 1999 to 2000 the species was referred to as H. sp. 'Esperance Valley' (Roberts & Jewell 1999). Since 2000 onwards, it has been referred to by several variations of the 'Cascades' term (Cascade forest gecko) (Whitaker & Lyall 2004).
Description
A medium sized gecko (63 to 85 mm SVL, (R. Hitchmough unpub. data, R. Hitchmough pers. comm. in Jewell 2008). Dorsal surfaces grey or brown tone and W- or, H- or chevron-shaped markings along the back which may be either dull or light. Sometimes with large, regular mustard-yellow spots on nape and along edges of back, and/or irregular dull orange-red shadings. Ventral surfaces uniform grey, speckled or with irregular longitudinal stripes. Snout with strong patterns. Mouth lining and tongue bright orange. Eye brown or olive-grey. Tail equal or shorter than SVL.
Photo and information from Landcare Research’s NZ Lizards Database.
SVL = Snout-to-Vent Length. A convention in describing the length of lizards is to measure from the tip of the snout to the vent, the opening through which the animal defecates. The vent is at the base of the tail, and thus the tail is not included in the length.
Logging Etiquette. To log a cache as per Geocaching.com’s Geocaching 101, under the LEARN tab, means that the logbook has to be signed. See step 7 of ‘How is the game is played?’ and Rule 2 of ‘What are the rules of geocaching?’. This does not mean leaving little scraps of paper, calling cards or stickers, etc, as a means of signing and these will be removed if found in the cache. If you have not signed the logbook your log will be deleted without any further warning.
The cache is a 400ml plastic jar.