Subfamily DIPLODACTYLINAE - Diplodactyline Geckos

Family GEKKONIDAE

Genus ORRAYA - Velvet Geckos

A monotypic genus, made up of a species formerly assigned to Saltuarius.

Scientific name Common name Place of origin Size (max) Notes

Orraya occultus Long-Necked Northern Leaf-Tailed Gecko Australia (Cape York Peninsula, Queensland) 11cm SVL Found only in a restricted part of McIlwraith Range. Scalation: single postanal tubercle each side: dorsal scales flat, round, juxtaposed and homogoneous. Coloration: dorsally dark purple-brown, with five white or yellowish transverse bands between snout and vent. The bands and spaces between them are equidistant. Juveniles are very clearly banded, but old adults may show a number of yellow scales within the bands, breaking the overall appearance up somewhat. The first dark band forms a collar or "bridle" on the neck that runs from eye to eye: otherwise the snout and crown of head are pale. The limbs are speckled and mottled. Ventral surfaces are whitish.

Bibliography

Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Harold Cogger, 6th edition - absolutely indispensable for overview of Australian lizards. We acknowledge the indebtedness of this page to this book for taxonomic and scalation details.

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Scientific name	Common name	Place of origin	Size (max)	Notes
Orraya occultus	Long-Necked Northern Leaf-Tailed Gecko	Australia (Cape York Peninsula, Queensland)	11cm SVL	Found only in a restricted part of McIlwraith Range. Scalation: single postanal tubercle each side: dorsal scales flat, round, juxtaposed and homogoneous. Coloration: dorsally dark purple-brown, with five white or yellowish transverse bands between snout and vent. The bands and spaces between them are equidistant. Juveniles are very clearly banded, but old adults may show a number of yellow scales within the bands, breaking the overall appearance up somewhat. The first dark band forms a collar or "bridle" on the neck that runs from eye to eye: otherwise the snout and crown of head are pale. The limbs are speckled and mottled. Ventral surfaces are whitish.