Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4586 No. 1: 16 Apr. 2019
Type: Article
Published: 2019-04-16
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4586.1.4
Page range: 98–108
Abstract views: 88
PDF downloaded: 2

Rediscovery of Cnemaspis nilagirica Manamendra-Arachchi, Batuwita and Pethiyagoda, 2007 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Kerala, India with notes on morphology and distribution 

IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE) and School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE) and School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India
Pavukandy House, Moolad Post, Narayamkulam, Kozhikode, Kerala 673614, India
Zoological Survey of India- Western Ghats Regional Center, Kozhikode, Kerala 673006, India
Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
Reptilia Day geckos Nilgiri Hills Western Ghats

Abstract

Cnemaspis nilagirica was described by Manamendra-Arachchi, Batuwita and Pethiyagoda in 2007 based on a single female specimen that was a syntype of Gonatodes kandianus var. tropidogaster described by Boulenger in 1885. However, a living population of this species has not been reported since its original description by Boulenger. Based on fresh material and comparisons with the holotype of C. nilagirica, we here report the collection of this species after over 130 years. We provide the first description of a male specimen and additional information on morphological variation, distribution and natural history.

 

References

  1. Agarwal, I., Biswas, S., Bauer, A.M., Greenbaum, E., Jackman, T.R., Silva, A.D. & Batuwita, S. (2017) Cryptic species, taxonomic inflation, or a bit of both? New species phenomenon in Sri Lanka as suggested by a phylogeny of dwarf geckos (Reptilia, Squamata, Gekkonidae, Cnemaspis). Systematics and Biodiversity, 15, 1–13.

    https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2017.1282553

    Amarasinghe, A.T., Campbell, P.D., Madawala, M.B., Botejue, W.M.S., Gabadage, D.E., De Silva, A. & Karunarathna, D.S. (2016) The Re-discovery of live populations of Cnemaspis tropidogaster (Boulenger, 1885) (Sauria, Gekkonidae) from Sri Lanka after 120 years. Zootaxa, 4200 (3), 395–405.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4200.3.5

    Batuwita, S. & Udugampala, S. (2017) Description of a new species of Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Knuckles Range of Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 4254 (1), 82–90.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4254.1.4

    Bauer, A.M. (2002) Two new species of Cnemaspis (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Gund, Uttara Kannada, India. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 99, 155–167.

    Bauer, A.M., Chirio, L., Ineich, I. & LeBreton, M. (2006) New species of Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northern Cameroon, a neglected biodiversity hotspot. Journal of Herpetology, 40, 510–519.

    https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2006)40[510:NSOCSG]2.0.CO;2

    Boulenger, G.A. (1885) Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.). Vol. I. Trustees of the British Museum, London, xiv + 436 pp., 32 pls.

    Cyriac, V.P., Johny, A., Umesh, P.K. & Palot, M.J. (2018) Description of two new species of Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Zootaxa, 4459 (1), 85–100.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4459.1.3

    Cyriac, V.P. & Umesh, P.K. (2013) Current status of Cnemaspis littoralis (Jerdon, 1853) (Sauria: Gekkonidae) with designation of a neotype. Taprobanica, 5, 36–43.
    https://doi.org/10.4038/tapro.v5i1.5660

    Cyriac, V.P. & Umesh, P.K. (2014) Description of a new ground-dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae), from Kerala, allied to C. wynadensis (Beddome, 1870). Russian Journal of Herpetology, 21, 187–194.

    Das, I. & Bauer, A.M. (2000) Two new species of Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Tamil Nadu, southern India. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 7, 17–28.

    Gamble, T., Greenbaum, E., Jackman, T.R., Russell, A.P. & Bauer, A.M. (2012) Repeated origin and loss of adhesive toepads in geckos. PLoS ONE, 7, e39429.

    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039429

    Giri, V.B., Bauer, A.M. & Gaikwad, K.S. (2009) A new ground-dwelling species of Cnemaspis Strauch (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India. Zootaxa, 2164, 49–60.

    Inger, R.F., Marx, H. & Koshy, M. (1984) An undescribed species of gekkonid lizard (Cnemaspis) from India with comments on the status of C. tropidogaster. Herpetologica, 40, 149–154.

    Iskandar, D.T., McGuire, J.A. & Amarasinghe, A.T. (2017) Description of five new day geckos of Cnemaspis kandiana Group (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Sumatra and Mentawai Archipelago, Indonesia. Journal of Herpetology, 51, 142–153.

    https://doi.org/10.1670/15-047

    Manamendra-Arachchi, K., Batuwita, S. & Pethiyagoda, R. (2007) A taxonomic revision of the Sri Lankan day-geckos (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis), with description of new species from Sri Lanka and southern India. Zeylanica, 7, 9–122.

    Mirza, Z.A., Pal, S., Bhosale, H.S. & Sanap, R.V. (2014) A new species of gecko of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 from the Western Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 3815 (4), 494–506.
    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3815.4.2

    Pethiyagoda, R. (2007) The ‘New species syndrome’nin Sri Lankan herpetology: a cautionary note. Zeylanica, 7, 1–7.

    Pyron, R.A., Burbrink, F.T. & Wiens, J.J. (2013) A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 13, 1.

    https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-93

    Sayyed, A., Pyron, R.A. & Dahanukar, N. (2016) Cnemaspis flaviventralis, a new species of gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 8, 9619–9629.

    https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2599.8.14.9619-9629

    Sayyed, A., Pyron, R.A. & Dileepkumar, R. (2018) Four new species of Cnemaspis from the Western Ghats. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 12 (e157), 1–29.

    Smith, M.A. (1935) The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. 2. Sauria. Taylor and Francis, London, xiv + 440 pp., 1 pl.

    Srinivasulu, C., Kumar, G.C. & Srinivasulu, B. (2015) A new species of Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Northern Karnataka, India. Zootaxa, 3947 (1), 85–98.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3947.1.5

    Taylor, E.H. (1953) A review of the lizards of Ceylon. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 35, 1537–1542.

    https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.26732

    Uetz, P., Freed, P. & Hošek, J. (2018) The Reptile Database. Available from: http://www.reptile-database.org (accessed 19 March 2019)

    Wickramasinghe, L.J. & Munindradasa, D.A.I. (2007) Review of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in Sri Lanka with the description of five new species. Zootaxa, 1490, 1–63.

    Wood Jr, P.L., Grismer, L.L., Aowphol, A., Aguilar, C.A., Cota, M., Grismer, M.S., Murdoch, M.L. & Sites Jr., J.W. (2017) Three new karst-dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata; Gekkoniade) from Peninsular Thailand and the phylogenetic placement of C. punctatonuchalis and C. vandeventeri. PeerJ, 5, e2884.

    https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2884

    Zheng, Y. & Wiens, J.J. (2016) Combining phylogenomic and supermatrix approaches, and a time-calibrated phylogeny for squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) based on 52 genes and 4162 species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 94, 537–547.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.009