NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
New Caledonia Giant Gecko
Rhacodactylus leachianus (Cuvier, 1829)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Rhacodactylus leachianus, commonly known as the New Caledonian giant gecko, Leach's giant gecko, leachianus gecko, or Leachie, is the largest living species of gecko and a member of the family Diplodactylidae. It is native to most of New Caledonia.
Wikipedia contributors, Rhacodactylus leachianus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:42:41.194511+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhacodactylus leachianus (Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- New Caledonia Giant Gecko
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Diplodactylidae
- Genus
- Rhacodactylus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderGekkota
- familyDiplodactylidae
- genusRhacodactylus
- speciesRhacodactylus leachianus (Cuvier, 1829)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhacodactylus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rough-snouted Giant GeckoRhacodactylus trachyrhynchus Bocage, 1873 | DiplodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rhacodactylus willihenkeli Köhler, Sameit, Seipp & Geiss, 2024 | DiplodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| New Caledonia Bumpy GeckoRhacodactylus auriculatus (Bavay, 1869) | DiplodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tough-snouted Giant GeckoRhacodactylus trachycephalus (Boulenger, 1878) | DiplodactylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gecko leachii Schinz, 1834 Schinz, 1834 | synonym |
| Rhacodactylus aubryanus Bocage, 1881 Bocage, 1881 | synonym |
| Rhacodactylus aubrianus Bocage, 1873 Bocage, 1873 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Rhacodactylus&species=leachianus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4RX4R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.