These geckos are found in all the tropical regions of the world, extending into the subtropical parts of Africa and Europe.

[citation needed] This species is closely related to the genus Gehyra, which belongs to the same family in Gekkonidae.

Each finger or toe has a slender distal clawed joint, angularly bent and rising from within the extremity of the dilated portion.

[8] The fingers and toes are free, or more or less webbed, and dilated; underneath they bear a straight line running down their lamellae, which is in a pattern resembling a paripinnate compound leaf.

Some members of the genus, such as H. platyurus, are able to run quadrupedally across water by a partially surface tension-dependent mechanism distinct from the bipedal gait of basilisks.