Common Name
Barking gecko or Wellington green gecko
Scientific Name
Naultinus elegans punctatus
Etymology
The scientific names 'elegans' and 'punctatus' means 'elegant and spotted'. 'Wellington green gecko' refers to the known distribution of this gecko in greater Wellington. The alternative common name proposed by Jewell (2008) of 'barking gecko' refers to the vigorous defensive vocal behaviour. Known from 1843-1885 as Naultinus punctatus, from 1885-1980 as N. elegans, until Robb & Hitchmough (1980) created a subspecific status within N. elegans.
Description
Medium sized, robustly built gecko (90-95 mm SVL, up to 200 mm total length, Robb and Hitchmough 1980, Jewell 2008). Dorsal surface mainly green above, not as vivid or markings as variable as subspecies N. elegans elegans, often with lighter, bluish-green, white or yellow patches on either side of the back. Sides pale blue in adult males. Rarely, some specimens bright yellow. Ventral surfaces pale green. Eye light orange-brown. Mouth lining dark blue; tongue blue or bluish-black. Toes narrow and tapering without expanded pads. Soles of feet and toes yellow which distinguises this subspecies from N. elegans elegans (grey-green soles) and note also differences in size (subspecies elegans smaller) and vocal behaviour (subspecies elegans less vocal). Scales on upper surface of snout enlarged, domed and with rounded margins. Cloacal spurs yellow (Hitchmough 1997,Jewell 2008).
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 Sistema
I had a bit of trouble trying to get accurate coordinates here. The cache is beside the track.
19 March 2017.
Coordinates updated.