Kingdom Animalia Class Reptilia Infraorder Gekkota Scientific name Hoplodactylus delcourti Rank Species | Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Lacertilia Family Diplodactylidae Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | |
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Similar Hoplodactylus, Rodrigues giant day gecko, Duvaucel's gecko, Naultinus, Hochstetter's frog | ||
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The kawekaweau (Hoplodactylus delcourti), also commonly known as Delcourt's sticky-toed gecko or Delcourt's giant gecko, is an extinct species of lizard which is one of the largest known of all geckos with a snout-to-vent length of 370 mm (14.6 in) and an overall length of at least 600 mm (23.6 in), surpassed only in size by the 40 centimetres (16 in) Rodriguez Island night gecko, Phelsuma gigas. The Kawekaweau was endemic to New Zealand, and is now believed to be extinct.
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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 (now protected as part of the northern section of Te Urewera National Park). This is the only documented report of anyone ever seeing one of these animals alive. 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; however, the origins and date of collection of the specimen remain a mystery, as when it was found, it was not labelled. 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.
