Fore and Hind Limbs
(Fig 6 D and E.)

In both fore and hind limbs, the arrangement of carpal and tarsal bones, and of phalanges, is similar in all the New Zealand species examined.

In the fore limb, a bony patella ulnaris is present at the proximal end of the ulna. Nine bones are present in the carpus, arranged in three rows. The proximal row consists of a radiale, ulnare and a very small pisiform. The middle row is represented only by a centrale. The distal row consists of five bones, of which the first is smaller than the rest. An intermedium is absent.

In the hind limb, two rows of tarsal bones occur, comprising four bones altogether. The proximal row consists of a large bone expanded across the width of the tarsus. Though often described as a tibio-fibulare, it is probably composed of a fused fibulare and intermedium, as El-Toubi (1949) in his discussion on the Lacertilian tarsus and review of the literature suggests. The distal row consists of three bones. As in Hemidactylus (Mahendra, 1950), the tarsal articulating with the first metatarsal is merely a vestige or nodule. A larger bone articulates with the third metatarsal, while the cuboid or fourth tarsal, which is the third distal tarsal present, is still larger. Of the metatarsals, the fifth is shorter than the others and is irregular and massive. It has the characteristic hook-shape typical of the Squamata.

The phalangeal formula of the New Zealand geckos is 2, 3, 4, 5, 3 for the fore limb, and 2, 3, 4, 5, 4 for the hind limb. In both cases this represents the primitive reptilian formula (Romer, 1949).

Mahendra (1950) describes the phalangeal formula of Hemidactylus as being 2, 3, 3, 4, 3 for both hand and foot. This represents a loss of one phalanx in each of the third, fourth and fifth toes as he correctly states, but the phalangeal formula of the manus is not primitive as is claimed in the summary of his paper.