Biology:Cnemaspis gunawardanai
| Cnemaspis gunawardanai | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Genus: | Cnemaspis |
| Species: | C. gunawardanai
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cnemaspis gunawardanai Amarasinghe, Karunarathna, Madawala & De Silva, 2021
| |
Cnemaspis gunawardanai, or Gunawardana's day gecko, is a species of diurnal rupicolous gecko endemic to island of Sri Lanka.[1]
Taxonomy
The species is closely resembling C. rajakarunai, C. hitihamii, and other congeners of the alwisi group.[2][3]
Etymology
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
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
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 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. http://www.taprobanica.org/Archives/Volume-9-14-2020-26/Volume-10-Number-1-May-2021/v10i1245.html. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- ↑ "Cnemaspis gunasekarai & C. gunawardanai • Two New Rupicolous Day Geckos of the Cnemaspis alwisi Group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Sri Lanka". http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2021/06/cnemaspis-guna.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Two endangered geckos named after Jagath and Samantha". https://island.lk/two-endangered-geckos-named-after-jagath-and-samantha/.
- ↑ "Two newly discovered Day-gecko species named after local conservationists". http://www.dailynews.lk/2021/05/29/local/250371/two-newly-discovered-day-gecko-species-named-after-local-conservationists.
- ↑ "Two gecko species endemic to this country". 29 May 2021. http://sinhala.newsslbc.lk/?p=66295.
- ↑ "Identifies the latest gecko species… Named after two experts". 28 May 2021. https://lankatruth.com/si/?p=117233.
- ↑ "Two newly discovered Day-gecko species named after local conservationists". https://www.msn.com/en-xl/asia/srilanka/two-newly-discovered-day-gecko-species-named-after-local-conservationists/ar-AAKuIVz.
Wikidata ☰ Q107292576 entry
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