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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Kawekaweau (Gecko)

Gigarcanum delcourti Bauer & Russell, 1986

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.

Delcourt's Gecko (Hoplodactylus delcourti): a giant gecko species, endemic of New Zealand which became extinct species in the second half of the nineteenth century ; considered extinct in 1870. It could reach 60 cm long, . Only a few reconstituted or naturalized specimens (like this one) are held by some natural history museum in the world. This object was part of the exhibition "The dear departed" presented to the public in 2000 by the Lille Natural History Museum (MHNL)

Delcourt's Gecko (Hoplodactylus delcourti): a giant gecko species, endemic of New Zealand which became extinct species in the second half of the nineteenth century ; considered extinct in 1870. It could reach 60 cm long, . Only a few reconstituted or naturalized specimens (like this one) are held by some natural history museum in the world. This object was part of the exhibition "The dear departed" presented to the public in 2000 by the Lille Natural History Museum (MHNL)

Lamiot · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

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). 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. While originally suggested to have been from New Zealand and the kawekaweau of Māori oral tradition, DNA evidence from the specimen suggests that it originates from New Caledonia.

Wikipedia contributors, Gigarcanum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:16:38.396011+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Gigarcanum delcourti Bauer & Russell, 1986
Name authority
Bauer & Russell, 1986
Common name
Kawekaweau (Gecko)
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Diplodactylidae
Genus
Gigarcanum
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderGekkota
  11. familyDiplodactylidae
  12. genusGigarcanum
  13. speciesGigarcanum delcourti Bauer & Russell, 1986

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 147 records assigned to Diplodactylidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

New Zealand

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.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gigarcanum&species=delcourti 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.

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:C78MW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.