Carphodactylidae

Carphodactylidae, informally called the southern padless geckos, is a family of geckos in the infraorder Gekkota, endemic to Australia. The family comprises seven genera and thirty four described species, including the chameleon gecko (Carphodactylus), the knob-tailed geckos (Nephrurus) and the Australian leaf-tailed geckos (Phyllurus and Saltuarius). Molecular studies show Carphodactylidae to be the sister group of the legless family Pygopodidae despite retaining well developed limbs. Members lack adhesive toepads, instead gripping bark and other substrate with sharply curved claws, and species diversity is concentrated in humid forests along northeastern Australia, though some genera occupy arid regions as well.