Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2019-01-17
Page range: 389–407
Abstract views: 95
PDF downloaded: 2

Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest,
Uva Province of Sri Lanka

Nature Explorations and Education Team, No: B-1 / G-6, De Soysapura Flats, Moratuwa 10400, Sri Lanka
Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA
Amphibia and Reptile Research Organization of Sri Lanka, 15/1, Dolosbage Road, Gampola, Sri Lanka
Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA 02325, USA
Natural History Section, Department of National Museum, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka
South Australian Herpetology Group, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Biodiversity Conservation Society, 150/6, Stanley Thilakaratne Mawatha, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka
Central Environmental Authority, 104, Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Battaramulla 10120, Sri Lanka
Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Longwood University, Farmville, USA
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Rajarata University, Mihintale, Sri Lanka
Reptilia Autecology Conservation Microendemic Reproduction Systematics Threats

Abstract

A new species of Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 is described from Nilgala Savannah Forest in Sri Lanka. The new species is diagnosed from all other congeners by the following suite of characters: small body size (SVL< 33 mm), dorsal scales on trunk homogeneous, one pair of post mentals separated by a single small chin scale, ventral scales on trunk smooth, subimbricate, 17–19 scales across the belly. Subdigitals scansors smooth, entire, unnotched; lamellae under digit IV of pes 17 –18. Males with femoral pores on each thigh but lacking precloacal pores. Median row of subcaudals smooth, subimbricate, enlarged and in an irregular series of subhexagonal scales. This new species had been previously confused with Cnemaspis alwisi Wickramasinghe & Munidradasa, 2007. The new species differs from Cnemaspis alwisi by having 122–129 ventral scales (versus 146–152), 7–8 supralabials (versus 8–10), and relatively shorter SVL ranging between 31.5–32.9 mm (versus 37.8–39.9 mm). Further, the new species is genetically divergent from Cnemaspis alwisi, the species that it closely resembles by 13.5% and 7.8% from its sister species in the ND2 gene. The present discovery highlights the need for dedicated herpetofaunal explorations in Sri Lanka, especially the intermediate bioclimatic zone and associated cave systems and rock outcrops.

 

References

  1. Agarwal, I., Biswas, S., Bauer, A.M., Greenbaum, E., Jackman, T.R., de Silva, A. & 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

    Agarwal, I. & Karanth, K.P. (2014) A phylogeny of the only ground-dwelling radiation of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae): Diversification of Geckoella across peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 82, 193–199.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2014.09.016

    Amarasinghe, A.A.T. & Bauer, A.M. (2009) On the holotype of Cnemaspis podihuna Deraniyagala, 1944. Taprobanica, 1, 80–82.

    https://doi.org/10.4038/tapro.v1i2.2761

    Amarasinghe, A.A.T. & Campbell, P.D. (2016) On the resolution of a long-standing issue surrounding the holotype of Cnemaspis podihuna Deraniyagala, 1944 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae). Zootaxa, 4137 (2), 296–300.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4137.296.12

    Amarasinghe, A.A.T., Campbell, P.D., Madawala, M.B., Botejue, W.M.S., Gabadage, D.E., de Silva, A. & Karunarathna, D.M.S.S. (2016) The Re-descovery of live population 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

    Amarasinghe, A.A.T., Harvey, M.B., Riyanto, A. & Smith, E.N. (2015) A New Species of Cnemaspis (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from Sumatra, Indonesia. Herpetologica, 71, 160–167.

    https://doi.org/10.1655/herpetologica-d-14-00034

    Bauer, A.M., de Silva, A., Greenbaum, E. & Jackman, T. (2007) A new species of day gecko from high elevation in Sri Lanka, with a preliminary phylogeny of Sri Lankan Cnemaspis (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae). Mitteilungenausdem Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, 83 (Zoologische Reihe), 22–32.

    https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnz.200600022

    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

    Bossuyt, F., Meegaskumbura, M., Beenaerts, N., Gower, D.J., Pethiyagoda, R., Roelants, K., Mannaert, A., Wilkinson, M., Bahir, M.M., Manamendra-Arachchi, K., Ng, P.K.L., Schneider, C.J., Oommen, O.V. & Milinkovitch, M.C. (2004) Local endemism within the western Ghats-Sri Lanka Biodiversity hotspot. Science, 306, 479–481.

    https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1100167

    Cyriac, V.P. & Umesh, P.K. (2013) Current status of Cnemaspis littoralis (Jerdon, 1853) (Sauria: Gekkonidae) with designation of 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.

    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, 2576, 59–68.

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

    Deraniyagala, P.E.P. (1944) A new Cnemaspis gecko from Ceylon. Journal of Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka, 97, 226–227.

    de Silva, A., Bauer, A., Austin, C.C., Goonawardena, S., Howke, Z., Vanneck, V., Drion, A., De Silva, P., Perera, B.J.K., Jayaratne, R.L. & Goonasekera, M.M. (2004) The diversity of Nilgala Forest, Sri Lanka, with special reference to its herpetofauna. Lyriocephalus, 5, 164–182.

    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), 1–10.

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

    Ganesh, S.R., Sreekar, R., Pal, S.P., Ramchandra, G., Srinivasulu, C. & Srinivasulu, B. (2011) Discovery and first description of male Cnemaspis heteropholis Bauer, 2002 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from Agumbe, central Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 3, 2023–2027.

    https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.o2614.2023-7

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

    Goonewardene, S., Hawke, Z., Vanneck, V., Drion, A., de Silva, A., Jayarathne, R. & Perera, J. (2003) Diversity of Nilgala Fire Savannah, Sri Lanka: with special reference to its herpetofauna. Report of Project Hoona, 1–29.

    Grismer, L.L. & Van Tri, N. (2007) Four new species of the gekkonid genus Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata) from southern Vietnam. Herpetologica, 63, 482–500.

    https://doi.org/10.1655/0018-0831(2007)63[482:fnsotg]2.0.co;2

    Grismer, L.L. (2010) The first record of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Laos with the description of a new species. Zootaxa, 2475, 55–63.

    Grismer, L.L. & Chan, K.O. (2010) Another new rock gecko (genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa, 2419, 51–62.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2419.1.2

    Grismer, L.L., Sumontha, M., Cota, M., Grismer, J.L., Wood Junior, P.L., Pauwels, O.S. & Kunya, K. (2010) A revision and redescription of the rock gecko Cnemaspis siamensis (Taylor, 1925) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Peninsular Thailand with descriptions of seven new species. Zootaxa, 2576, 1–55.

    Grismer, L.L., Wood, P.L. Jr., Anuar, S., Riyanto, A., Ahmad, N., Muin, M.A., Sumontha, M., Grismer, J.L., Chan, K.O., C.K., Quah, E.S.H. & Pauwels, O.S.A. (2014) Systematics and natural history of Southeast Asian Rock Geckos (genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) with descriptions of eight new species from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Zootaxa, 3880 (1), 1–147.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3880.1.1

    Gunatileke, I.A.U.N. & Gunatileke, C.V.S. (1990) Distribution of floristic richness and its conservation in Sri Lanka. Conservation Biology, 4, 21–31.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1990.tb00262.x

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

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

    IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 3.1. 2nd Edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, 32 pp.

    IUCN-SL & MoE-SL (2007) The 2007 Red List of Threatened Fauna and Flora of Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 148 pp.

    Karunarathna, D., Abeywardena, U.T.I., Asela, M.D.C. & Kekulandala, L. (2008) A preliminary survey of the amphibian fauna in Nilgala Forest area and its vicinity, Monaragala District, Sri Lanka. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 3, 264–272.

    Karunarathna, D.M.S.S. & Amarasinghe, A.A.T. (2011) A preliminary survey of the reptile fauna in Nilgala forest and its vicinity, Monaragala District, Sri Lanka. Taprobanica, 3, 69–76.

    https://doi.org/10.4038/tapro.v3i2.3962

    Karunarathna, S., Henkanaththegedara, S., Amarasinghe, T. & de Silva, A. (2013) Impact of vehicular traffic on herpetofaunal mortality in a savannah forest, eastern Sri Lanka. Taprobanica, 5, 111–119.

    https://doi.org/10.4038/tapro.v5i2.6284

    Kearse, M., Moir, R., Wilson, A., Stones-Havas, S., Cheung, M., Sturrock, S., Buxton, S., Cooper, A., Markowitz, S., Duran, C., Thierer, T., Ashton, B., Mentjies, P. & Drummond, A. (2012) Geneious Basic: an integrated and extendable desktop software platform for the organization and analysis of sequence data. Bioinformatics, 28, 1647–1649.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bts199

    Kumar, S., Stecher, G. & Tamura, K. (2015) MEGA7: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33, 1870–1874.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw054

    Kumara, H.I.G.C., Wawwage, S., Yapa, L.G.D.S. & Karunarthne, M.L.M.S. (2017) Issues of Biopiracy Vs Community Based Forest Management: A Case Study on in the Nilgala Forest Reservation (Sri Lanka). Journal of Management Matter, 4, 27–45.

    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.

    Meegaskumbura, M., Bossuyt, F., Pethiyagoda, R., Manamendra-Arachchi, K., Bahir, M., Milinkovitch, M.C. & Schneider, C.J. (2002) Sri Lanka: an amphibian hot spot. Science, 298, 379–379.

    https://doi.org/10.1126/science.298.5592.379

    Ministry of Environment (MoE) (2012) The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 478 pp.

    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, 494–506.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3815.4.2

    Chan, K.O., Grismer, L., Anuar, S., Quah, E., Muin, M.A., Savage, A.E. & Grismer, J.L. (2010) A new endemic rock Gecko Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Gunung Jerai, Kedah, northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa, 4459, 085–100.

    R Core Team (2010) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, Available from: https://www.r-project.org/ (accessed 7 June 2018)

    Riyanto, A., Hamidy, A., Sidik, I. & Gunalen, D. (2017) A new species of rock gecko of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Belitung Island, Indonesia. Zootaxa, 4358 (3), 583–597.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4358.3.12

    Sabaj Pérez, M.H. (2015) Standard Symbolic Codes for Institutional Resource Collections in Herpetology and Ichthyology: An Online Reference. Version 5.0 (22 September 2014). American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Available from: http://www.asih.org/ (accessed 10 December 2018)

    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 the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the northern Western Ghats, India. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 12 (e157), 1–29.

    Schneider-Maunoury, L., Lefebvre, V., Ewers, R.M., Medina-Rangel, G.F., Peres, C.A., Somarriba, E., Urbina-Cardona, N. & Pfeifer, M. (2016) Abundance signals of amphibians and reptiles indicate strong edge effects in Neotropical fragmented forest landscapes. Biological Conservation, 200, 207−215.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.06.011

    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

    Uetz, P. &Hallermann, J. (2018) The Reptile Database. Available from: http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/search?search=Cnemaspis&submit=Search (accessed 10 August 2018)

    Vidanapathirana, D.R., Rajeev, M.D.G., Wickramasinghe, N., Fernando, S.S. & Wickramasinghe, L.J.M. (2014) Cnemaspis rammalensis sp. nov., Sri Lanka’s largest day-gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Rammalakanda Man and Biosphere Reserve in southern Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 3755 (3), 273–286.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3755.3.5

    Wickramasinghe, L.J.M. (2006) A new species of Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 1369, 19–33.

    Wickramasinghe, M. & Somaweera, R. (2002) Endemic geckos of Sri Lanka. Gekko, 3, 1–3.

    Wickramasinghe, L.J.M. & 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.

    Wickramasinghe, L.J.M., Vidanapathirana, D.R. & Rathnayake, R.M.G.P. (2016) Cnemaspis rajakarunai sp. nov., a rock dwelling day-gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Salgala, an unprotected lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 4168, 92–108.

    Wood Junior, P.L., Quah, E.S., Anuar, S. & Muin, M.A. (2013) A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa, 3691 (5), 538–558.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3691.5.2
    Wood Junior, P.L., Grismer, L.L., Aowphol, A., Aguilar, C.A., Cota, M., Grismer, M.S., Murdoch, M.L. & Sites Junior, 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. Peer J, 5 (e2884), 1–46.

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

    Zar, J.H. (2010) Biostatistical Analysis. 5th Edition. Prentice Hall Inc., New Jersey, 931 pp.

    Ziegler, T., Rauhaus, A., Nguyen, K.V. & Nguyen, T.Q. (2016) Building of a conservation breeding facility for the Psychedelic Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis psychedelica) in southern Vietnam. Der Zoologische Garten, 85, 224–239.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zoolgart.2016.05.002