a name common to the members of a family of lizards that are active by night and are characterized by a general flatness of their bodies and heads, which have a somewhat triangular shape. The body is covered on the upper part with numerous round warts; the feet are rather short, the toes of nearly equal length and furnished with flattened sucking pads, by means of which the animals can run up a perpendicular wall or even across a ceiling after the manner of flies. The gecko receives its name from its peculiar cry. Species are common in North Africa and South Europe.