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A New Species of Day Gecko of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata : Gekkonidae) from the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India


Affiliations
1 Western Ghats Regional Centre (WGRC), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Calicut – 673 006, Kerala, India
2 212/14 Vittoba Kovil, Street Lower Bazaar, Ooty – 643001, Tamil Nadu, India
3 Ananthnagar, Electronic City Phase-II, Electronic City – 560100, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
4 Department of Zoology, Mount Carmel College Autonomous, #58, Palace Road, Vasanth Nagar – 560052, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
 

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Based on the field explorations in the Western Ghats, a day gecko of the genus Cnemaspis 1887 is described from the Nilgiri hill ranges of Tamil Nadu. A medium sized gecko is distinguished from all the other congeners by a set of distinct morphological characters. Current taxonomic issues persisting among the members of genus Cnemaspis reported from the Western Ghats and India are discussed. The new species is found to have restrictive range of distribution in the higher elevations of Nilgiri hills. The discovery of a new high altitude endemic species indicates a need of further explorations in Nilgiri hill ranges.

Keywords

Cnemaspis, Gekkonidae, New Species, Nilgiri Hills, Taxonomy, Western Ghats.
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  • A New Species of Day Gecko of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata : Gekkonidae) from the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract Views: 374  |  PDF Views: 179

Authors

B. H. Channakeshava Murthy
Western Ghats Regional Centre (WGRC), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Calicut – 673 006, Kerala, India
A. Nitesh
212/14 Vittoba Kovil, Street Lower Bazaar, Ooty – 643001, Tamil Nadu, India
Shruti Sengupta
Ananthnagar, Electronic City Phase-II, Electronic City – 560100, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
P. Deepak
Department of Zoology, Mount Carmel College Autonomous, #58, Palace Road, Vasanth Nagar – 560052, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Abstract


Based on the field explorations in the Western Ghats, a day gecko of the genus Cnemaspis 1887 is described from the Nilgiri hill ranges of Tamil Nadu. A medium sized gecko is distinguished from all the other congeners by a set of distinct morphological characters. Current taxonomic issues persisting among the members of genus Cnemaspis reported from the Western Ghats and India are discussed. The new species is found to have restrictive range of distribution in the higher elevations of Nilgiri hills. The discovery of a new high altitude endemic species indicates a need of further explorations in Nilgiri hill ranges.

Keywords


Cnemaspis, Gekkonidae, New Species, Nilgiri Hills, Taxonomy, Western Ghats.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi%2Fv119%2Fi3%2F2019%2F143339