Gigarcanum

Gigarcanum
Model in Lille Natural History Museum

Extinct (19th century)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Diplodactylidae
Genus: †Gigarcanum
Heinicke, et al, 2023
Species:
†G. delcourti
Binomial name
†Gigarcanum delcourti
(Bauer & Russell, 1986)
Synonyms
  • Hoplodactylus delcourti Bauer & Russell, 1986

Gigarcanum delcourti, formerly Hoplodactylus delcourti, is an extinct species of gecko in the family Diplodactylidae. It is the largest known of all geckos, with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 37 cm (14.6 in) and an overall length (including tail) of at least 60 cm (23.6 in).[2] It is only known from a single taxidermied specimen collected in the 19th century that was rediscovered unlabelled in a museum in France. The origin of the specimen was undocumented.[1] While originally suggested to have been from New Zealand and the kawekaweau of Māori oral tradition,[3][4][5] DNA evidence from the specimen suggests that it originates from New Caledonia.[6]

  1. ^ a b Hitchmough, R.; van Winkel, D.; Lettink, M.; Chapple, D. (2019). "Hoplodactylus delcourti ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T10254A120158840. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T10254A120158840.en.
  2. ^ Wilson, Kerry-Jayne (2004). Flight of the Huia: Ecology and Conservation of New Zealand's Frogs, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Canterbury University Press. ISBN 0-908812-52-3. OCLC 937349394.
  3. ^ Worthy, T.H. (March 1997). "Quaternary fossil fauna of South Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 27 (1): 67–162. Bibcode:1997JRSNZ..27...67W. doi:10.1080/03014223.1997.9517528.
  4. ^ Tennyson, Alan J.D. (2010). "The origin and history of New Zealand's terrestrial vertebrates" (PDF). New Zealand Ecological Society. 34 (1): 6–27.
  5. ^ Worthy, Trevor H. (2016). "A Review of the Fossil Record of New Zealand Lizards". New Zealand Lizards. Springer International Publishing. pp. 65–86. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-41674-8_3. ISBN 978-3-319-41672-4.
  6. ^ Heinicke, Matthew P.; Nielsen, Stuart V.; Bauer, Aaron M.; Kelly, Ryan; Geneva, Anthony J.; Daza, Juan D.; Keating, Shannon E.; Gamble, Tony (2023-06-19). "Reappraising the evolutionary history of the largest known gecko, the presumably extinct Hoplodactylus delcourti, via high-throughput sequencing of archival DNA". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 9141. Bibcode:2023NatSR..13.9141H. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-35210-8. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10279644. PMID 37336900.