AbstractIn the course of a review of the gekkonid genus Uroplatus some early descriptions of lizards subsequently ascribed to this genus were found to be inappropriate. The "salamanders" of Feuillée (1714) and Seba (1735) are not gekkonids at all, but accompanying illustrations, which do not agree with the textual descriptions, exhibit some gekkonid characteristics. This probably accounts for subsequent confusion. The Sarroubé of Lacépède (1788), however, is gekkonid and represents an early description of a member of the genus Phelsuma. Subsequent confusion with Uroplatus has obscured recognition of the key characteristics of the Sarroubé, and it was not until 1825 that the genus Phelsuma was formally recognized.