Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/91

Rh by five toes, differing little in length, which radiate as if from a centre, so as to form two-thirds of a circle. The under surface of the toes is, in most of the genera, much widened, and furnished with small plates, or laminæ, overlapping each other in a regular manner, which varies in different genera and species. The toes are frequently united by a membrane at their base.

The claws are pointed, hooked, and kept constantly sharp, by an apparatus by which they are capable of retraction, like those of the cat. In some genera, however, the claws are wanting.

The jaws of the Geckos are armed all round with a single row of minute teeth, which are compressed, with cutting edges, implanted in the interior surface of the jaw-bone; the palate is destitute of teeth. The mouth is wide; the tongue is thick and fleshy; slightly extensile, with the extremity sometimes notched. The ears are situated on the sides of the head, the