Common Name
Duvaucel’s gecko or Giant gecko
Scientific Name
Hoplodactylus duvaucelii
Etymology
Named after the French naturalist Alfred Duvaucel (1793-1825), whom explored parts of India.
Description
This is a large nocturnal gecko, reaching 98-161mm SVL and up to 200-320 mm total length (Barwick 1982, Whitaker 1968). This gecko is also very robust, weighing up to 118g (Whitaker 1968), ranging from 70 to >100g, mean 57.3 g (Towns 1991, Towns 2002). Dorsal surface grey, olive-brown or olive-green with 5-6 irregular cross bars across body from nape of neck, never striped. Eye yellow, mouth and tongue pink. Ventral surface pale or uniform grey, may be weakly blotched. This gecko is very heavily-bodied with a broad head, thick trunk and tail and large feet. Toes have extended pads, and have a high number of lamellae (>15, McCann 1955, Whitaker 1968). Tail length is approximately equal to SVL, often regrown. This is New Zealand's largest extant lizard species, and also one of the world's largest geckos.
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 1 litre Sistema.