[gecko]hawaiian geckos and mo`o legends

[Tom Wolforth]

Aloha,		February 22, 2006

I am a professional archaeologist working and living in Hawai`i.  There are=
 geckos living here, plenty of legends of mo`o (the large legendary geckos)=
 that do marvelous things in the histories, but very little information on =
gecko in archaeological and paleontological contexts in the islands (at lea=
st that I am aware of).

My question is this: when did gecko arrive in Hawai`i?  Options seem to be:=
 1) prior to the arrival of any humans; 2) along with the Polynesians when =
they discovered Hawai`i (perhaps as early as 100 AD); 3) along with the ear=
liest non-Polynesian travelers to the island after it was bumped into by Ca=
ptain Cook (1778 AD); or during the heavy influx of foreigners to Hawai`i i=
n the middle 1800s or thereafter.

More questions: Can someone point me in the direction of a body of document=
ation on this issue? =20
What are the genus species of the geckos that are common (or uncommon) in H=
awai`i? =20

Please keep in mind I know very little about the ways of gecko.  I have bee=
n drawn to this by my research into the legends of mo`o in Hawai`i. =20

Many thanks, Tom Wolforth
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