Cnemaspis gunawardanai
Cnemaspis gunawardanai | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Gekkonidae |
Genus: | Cnemaspis |
Species: | C. gunawardanai
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Binomial name | |
Cnemaspis gunawardanai Amarasinghe, Karunarathna, Madawala & De Silva, 2021
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Cnemaspis gunawardanai, or Gunawardana's day gecko, is a species of diurnal rupicolous gecko endemic to island of Sri Lanka.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]The species is closely resembling C. rajakarunai, C. hitihamii, and other congeners of the alwisi group.[2][3]
Etymology
[edit]The specific name gunawardanai is named in honor of Dr. Jagath Gunawardana.[4] He is a leading environmental activist, conservationist, and a lawyer contributed to popularizing environmental laws among the general public.[1][5]
Description
[edit]An adult male is 37.4 mm long. Dorsum homogeneous with keeled granular scales. There are four spine-like tubercles on flanks. Dorsum patterned with creamy and yellowish vertebral markings on a uniform dark brown background. Snout is light brown. There is a black spot on the neck. A a vertebral cream stripe shading visible posteriorly. Arms and legs uniform dark brown with pale and dark blotches. Tail is dark brown with six pale yellow markings.[1]
Ecology
[edit]The gecko found only from two localities: Pilikuttuwa and Maligatenna, Gampaha district.[6] Entirely wild species, it is commonly inhabited in dry, shaded, cool surfaces of rock outcrops inside caves.[7] The researchers suggested critically endangered IUCN category for the species due to regional endemism.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Departemen Biologi, Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Universitas Indonesia, Kampus UI, Depok, 16424, Indonesia; Amarasinghe, A.A. Thasun; Karunarathna, Suranjan; Madawala, Majintha; de Silva, Anslem (2021-05-27). "TWO NEW RUPICOLOUS DAY GECKOS OF THE Cnemaspis alwisi GROUP (REPTILIA: GEKKONIDAE) FROM SRI LANKA". Taprobanica. 10: 23–38. doi:10.47605/tapro.v10i1.245. S2CID 236390650. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Cnemaspis gunasekarai & C. gunawardanai • Two New Rupicolous Day Geckos of the Cnemaspis alwisi Group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Sri Lanka". novataxa. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ a b "Two endangered geckos named after Jagath and Samantha". The Island. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Two newly discovered Day-gecko species named after local conservationists". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Two gecko species endemic to this country". SLBC News ( Sinhala ). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Identifies the latest gecko species… Named after two experts". Lankatruth. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Two newly discovered Day-gecko species named after local conservationists". msn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-03.