A new species of day gecko (Reptilia, Gekkonidae, Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from Sri Lanka with an updated ND2 gene phylogeny of Sri Lankan and Indian species

Abstract

A new day gecko of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 is described from the intermediate bioclimatic zone (Haputale Forest and Idalgashinna Forest in Badulla District) of Sri Lanka. The new species belongs to the Cnemaspis kandiana clade and was recorded from granite caves and abandoned buildings within forested areas. The region in which these habitats are located, receives relatively high annual rainfall (2500–3500 mm) and has fairly cool, moist and well-shaded conditions. The new species is medium in size (30.2–32.9 mm SVL) and can be differentiated from all other Sri Lankan Cnemaspis by the presence of small subcaudals, heterogenous dorsal scales, smooth pectoral and ventral scales, 7 or 8 supralabials and infralabials, 143–159 ventral scales, 15–17 belly scales, 95–103 mid-body scales, 122–132 paravertebrals, 3 pre-anal pores, 4 or 5 femoral pores and 17 or 18 lamellae on 4th toe. The species described herein is categorised as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN Red List Criteria. The major threats for the new species are habitat loss due to expansion of commercial-scale agriculture and illicit forest encroachments. Therefore, we recommend relevant authorities to take immediate conservation action to ensure the protection of these forest areas in Haputale and Idalgashinna along with the buffer zone in the near future.

Integration of genetic structure into conservation of an endangered, endemic lizard, Ceratophora aspera: A case study from Sri Lanka

“…Most taxonomic descriptions of lizard species in Sri Lanka are based on morphological data (Amarasinghe & Karunarathna, 2020; Bahir & Maduwage, 2005; Karunarathna, de Silva, et al, 2019; Karunarathna & Ukuwela, 2019; Samarawickrama & Ranawana, 2006). Although this is a conventional method of species delimitation, it overlooks the possibility of cryptic species, which can lead to underestimation of species diversity (Agarwal et al, 2017; McClelland et al, 1998; Stuart et al, 2006).…”

A phylogenetic and taxonomic assessment of the Cnemaspis alwisi group (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) in Sri Lanka with a description of two new species from isolated misty-mountains

“…Sri Lanka, along with the Western Ghats of India, is ranked as one of the world's smallest biodiversity hotspots (Meegaskumbura et al 2002). Of the 242 species of reptiles described, ~66% are endemic to the country, and thus Sri Lanka is also considered a reptile diversity hotspot (Roll et al 2017;Karunarathna et al 2020). Within this rich reptile assemblage, the diversity of geckos (Family Gekkonidae) is remarkable; 63 species (from eight genera) have been described so far, accounting for ~26% of the overall reptilian species-richness (de Silva et al 2019;Amarasinghe and Karunarathna 2020;Amarasinghe et al 2021b).…”

“…Despite the recent resurrection of the genus Ancylodactylus Müller, 1907 to accommodate African species formerly assigned to Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Malonza and Bauer 2022), more than 200 species of Cnemaspis are currently recognized, making it the second most speciose gekkonid genus in the world after Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Grismer et al 2021;Uetz et al 2022). The genus Cnemaspis comprises 40 species in Sri Lanka, all of which are endemic (Manamendra-Arachchi et al 2007;Wickramasinghe et al 2016;Batuwita et al 2019;Karunarathna et al 2021). Sri Lankan Cnemaspis represent about ~20% of global Cnemaspis richness despite occupying a small fraction of the global distribution area of the genus.…”

Three more novel species of South Asian Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India

“…The South Asian clade within the polyphyletic genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 diversified from a Western Ghats origin during the PaleoceneEocene and today in cludes over 100 species disjunctly distributed in peninsu lar India, Sri Lanka, parts of Southeast Asia, with a single species in northeast India (Iskandar et al 2017;Lee et al 2019;Agarwal et al , 2021aAmarasinghe et al 2021;Pal et al 2021;Uetz et al 2022). A recent series of contributions on the taxonomy and biogeography of South Asian Cnemaspis have resulted in the placement of almost all described species from India and Sri Lanka into phylogenies, redescriptions of several poorly known species, and descriptions of a large number of new species (Sayyed et al 2018(Sayyed et al , 2021Cyriac et al 2018Cyriac et al , 2020Khandekar et al 2019aKhandekar et al , 2019bKhandekar et al , 2020aKhandekar et al , 2020bKhandekar et al , 2021aKhandekar et al , 2021bKhandekar et al , 2022Murthy et al 2019;Chandramouli, 2020;Agarwal et al 2020aAgarwal et al , 2020bAgarwal et al , 2021aAgarwal et al , 2021bSayyed and Sulakhe, 2020;Karunarathna et al 2021;Pal et al 2021).…”