Kawekaweau

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Kawekaweau

Extinct (1870) (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Lacertilia
Infraorder:
Gekkota
Family:
Diplodactylidae
Genus:
Hoplodactylus
Species:
H. delcourti
Binomial name
Hoplodactylus delcourti
Bauer & Russell, 1986 [2]

Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

The kawekaweau (Hoplodactylus delcourti), also commonly known as Delcourt's sticky-toed gecko[3] or Delcourt's giant gecko, is a species of lizard which was by far the largest of all geckos with a snout-to-vent length of Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). and an overall length of at least Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value)..[4] It was endemic to New Zealand, and is now believed to be extinct.[1][lower-alpha 1]

History

According to his own report, in 1870, a Māori chief killed a kawekaweau he found under the bark of a dead rata tree in the forests of the Waimana Valley[7] (now protected as part of the northern section of Te Urewera National Park[8]). This is the only documented report of anyone ever seeing one of these animals alive.[7] He described it as being "brownish with reddish stripes and as thick as a man's wrist." Whether his story was true or not is unknown. A single stuffed museum specimen was "discovered" in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Marseille in 1986;[6] however, the origins and date of collection of the specimen remain a mystery, as when it was found, it was not labelled.[7] Scientists examining it eventually concluded it was from New Zealand and was in fact the lost "kawekaweau", a giant and mysterious forest lizard of Maori oral tradition.

Etymology

This animal's specific epithet is taken from the surname of French museum worker Alain Delcourt, who discovered the forgotten specimen in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Marseille.[3][6]

Notes

  1. ↑ The largest extant species of gecko is Leach's giant gecko of New Caledonia, at Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). long;[5] the endangered Duvaucel's gecko is the largest surviving species of gecko in New Zealand, also one of the largest in the world.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Hoplodactylus delcourti, p. 69).
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Allison Ballance and Rod Morris, Island Magic; Wildlife of the South Seas, David Bateman publishing, 2003.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Brian Gill and Tony Whitaker, New Zealand Frogs and Reptiles, David Bateman Publishing, 1996. ISBN 978-1869532642.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Bauer AM, Russell AP. "Hoplodactylus delcourti n. sp. (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), the largest known gecko", New Zealand Journal of Zoology (1986), Vol. 13: 141–148. doi:10.1080/03014223.1986.10422655
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • New Zealand frogs and reptiles, Brian Gill and Tony Whitaker, David Bateman publishing, 1996

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Kawekaweau&oldid=690548987"