Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis
| Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Gekkota |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Genus: | Cnemaspis |
| Species: | C. chengodumalaensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis Cyriac, Palot, Deuti, & Umesh, 2020 | |
Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis is a species of diurnal, rock-dwelling, insectivorous gecko endemic to India. It is distributed in Kerala.
Taxonomy
Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis belongs to the C. wynadensis clade, a group of nine related lineages of Cnemaspis distributed across the Western Ghats. It was described alongside a second new species, C. zacharyi, based on a 16S rRNA phylogeny combined with morphological data. The species epithet refers to Chengodumala, the type locality of the species.[1]
Distribution and habitat
The species is known from Chengodumala, a low-elevation hillock in Kerala, southwestern India, where it occurs on rocky outcrops within forested patches. Its range overlaps at the type locality with that of Cyrtodactylus chengodumalaensis, a separate gecko species named after the same locality. Further undescribed gecko species related to Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis are considered likely to occur there.[2]
References
- ↑ Cyriac, V. P.; Palot, M. J.; Deuti, K.; Umesh, P. K. (2020). "A preliminary 16S rRNA phylogeny of the Indian Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with the description of two new cryptic species from the C. wynadensis clade". Vertebrate Zoology. 70 (2): 171–193. doi:10.26049/VZ70-2-2020-06.
- ↑ Agarwal, Ishan; Umesh, P. K.; Das, Abhijit; Bauer, Aaron M. (2023). "A new spotted species of the Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) collegalensis (Beddome, 1870) complex from coastal Kerala, southwestern India". Zootaxa. 5244 (5): 473–486. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5244.5.4.