| Delcourt's gecko | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Lacertilia |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Subfamily: | Diplodactylinae |
| Genus: | Hoplodactylus |
| Species: | H. delcourti |
| Binomial name | |
| Hoplodactylus delcourti Bauer & Russell, 1986 |
|
The Kawekaweau or Delcourt's Giant Gecko, Hoplodactylus delcourti, was by far the largest of all geckos with a snout to vent length of 370 mm and an overall length of at least 600 mm.[1] It was endemic to New Zealand and is now believed to be extinct. This would make Leach's giant gecko of New Caledonia, at 360mm in total length, the largest surviving species of gecko in the world[2] - this leaves the endangered Duvaucel's gecko as the largest surviving species of gecko in New Zealand and one of the largest in the world.[3] This animal's specific epithet is after the surname of French museum worker Alain Delcourt - he was the person who discovered the forgotten specimen in the basement of the Marseille museum.[3]
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, which are now protected as part of the northern section of Te Urewera National Park.[4][5] This is the only documented report of anyone ever seeing one of these animals alive.[5] He described it as being "brownish with reddish stripes and as thick as a man's wrist". A single stuffed museum specimen was "discovered" in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Marseille in 1986,[3] but unfortunately the origins and date of collection of the specimen remain a total mystery, as when it was found, it was unlabelled.[5] However, scientists examining it eventually came to the conclusion that it was from New Zealand and was in fact the lost "Kawekaweau", a giant and mysterious forest lizard of Maori oral tradition.