Forest spotted gecko

Forest spotted gecko
	Forest Spotted Gecko (C. speciosus) from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Cyrtodactylus
Species:	C. speciosus
Binomial name
	Cyrtodactylus speciosus; (Beddome, 1870)
Synonyms
	Gymnodactylus speciosus; Geckoella speciosus;

The forest spotted gecko or Erode ground gecko (Cyrtodactylus speciosus) is a species of gecko that is endemic to hills of South India, in parts of Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats.^[1] It was first described from hills near Erode in Tamil Nadu in 1870. Subsequently, this species was thought to be similar to Cyrtodactylus collegalensis, but recent studies have confirmed that they are distinct.^[2]^[3] This species has been sighted in hills around Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode, in parts of the Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu.^[4]

Habits and habitat

This species is nocturnal, where it begins its activity after dusk. It is insectivorous. This species reproduced by laying eggs. It is a terrestrial lizard, that lives on the ground among thick leaf-litter and pebbles and debris among the forest floor.

References

^ Cyrtodactylus speciosus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 March 2018.
^ Agarwal, I. S. H. A. N., Mirza, Z. A., Pal, S., Maddock, S. T., Mishra, A. N. U. R. A. G., & Bauer, A. M. (2016). A new species of the Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) collegalensis (Beddome, 1870) complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Western India. Zootaxa, 4170(2), 339-354.
^ Agarwal, I., & Karanth, K. P. (2015). 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.
^ Ganesh, S. R., & Arumugam, M. (2016). Species richness of montane herpetofauna of southern Eastern Ghats, India: a historical resume and a descriptive checklist. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 23(1)49-63.

[1] Cyrtodactylus speciosus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 March 2018.

[2] Agarwal, I. S. H. A. N., Mirza, Z. A., Pal, S., Maddock, S. T., Mishra, A. N. U. R. A. G., & Bauer, A. M. (2016). A new species of the Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) collegalensis (Beddome, 1870) complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Western India. Zootaxa, 4170(2), 339-354.

[3] Agarwal, I., & Karanth, K. P. (2015). 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.

[4] Ganesh, S. R., & Arumugam, M. (2016). Species richness of montane herpetofauna of southern Eastern Ghats, India: a historical resume and a descriptive checklist. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 23(1)49-63.

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