Cnemaspis gracilis (BEDDOME, 1870)
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Cnemaspis gracilis
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Slender Day Gecko |
| Synonym | Gymnodactylus gracilis BEDDOME 1870: 32 Gonatodes gracilis — BOULENGER 1885: 70 Cnemaspis gracilis — SMITH 1935: 74 Cnemaspis gracilis — MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI et al. 2007 Cnemaspis cf. gracilis — GANESH et al. 2018 Cnemaspis gracilis — KHANDEKAR et al. 2023 |
| Distribution | India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) Type locality: “Palghat Hills” (Kerala State, India) [lectotype] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: BMNH 74.4.29.393 (male), (designated by MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI et al. 2007). 29.7 mm SVL, coll. Colonel R. H. Beddome. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Cnemaspis gracilis differs from its peninsular Indian and Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following characters. Maximum SVL 32.9 mm; paired postmentals broadly in contact, each postmental bounded by 2 scales; ventrals, 111; dorsal scales heterogeneous with large, keeled tubercles in 11 or 12 rows on dorsum; spine-like tubercles present on flanks; ventrals smooth, imbricate; 2 preanal pores, separated by 2 unpored scales; 3–5 femoral pores on each side; subcaudals smooth, imbricate, not enlarged; supralabials to angle of jaws, 7; subdigital lamellae on digit IV of pes, 22 [from MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI et al. 2007]. Diagnosis. A small-sized Cnemaspis, snout to vent length up to 33 mm (n=19). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; weakly keeled granular scales intermixed with a fairly regularly arranged rows of enlarged, strongly keeled, conical tubercles; last one or two rows of enlarged, weakly keeled, spine-like tubercles on flank; 10–12 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body, 10–14 tubercles in paravertebral rows; ventral scales smooth, subcircular, subimbricate, subequal from chest to vent, 24–29 (rarely 30, n=1/13) scales across belly at mid-body, 100–121 longitudinal scales from mental to cloaca; subdigital scansors smooth, mostly unpaired, unnotched; 10–12 lamellae under digit I of manus and pes; 15–18 lamellae under digit IV of manus and 18–24 lamellae under digit IV of pes; males with 3–5 femoral pores on each thigh separated by 6–13 poreless scales from series of two (rarely 4 n=1/8) precloacal pores, precloacal pores separated medially by 2–4 poreless scales; tail with enlarged, strongly keeled, pointed, and spine-like tubercles forming whorls; median row of subcaudals smooth, roughly oval, and distinctly enlarged. Dorsum brown to red or orange, mottled with numerous small light grey spots and fine black spots, light grey vertebral blotches forming a chain from occiput to tail base; a single central black dorsal ocellus on neck and smaller one on occiput separated by a light blotch, two or three indistinct pairs of streaks on throat; original tail in males with about 8–10 alternating dark and light grey bands, regenerated tail yellow to orange. (Khandekar et al. 2023) Comparison with members of C. gracilis clade. Cnemaspis gracilis can be easily distinguished from all members of the clade by a combination of the following differing or non-overlapping characters: small-sized Cnemaspis with maximum SVL 32.9 mm (versus medium-sized Cnemaspis, SVL up to 41 mm in C. salimalii and C. thackerayi); 10–14 tubercles in paravertebral rows (versus 14–18 tubercles in paravertebral rows in C. agayagangai, 15–17 tubercles in paravertebral rows in C. fantastica, only a few irregularly arranged tubercles in paravertebral region in C. mundanthuraiensis, 16–18 tubercles in paravertebral rows in C. salimalii); 10–12 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body (versus eight or nine rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body in C. jackieii, 6–8 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body in C. mundanthuraiensis); spine-like tubercles present on flanks (versus spine-like tubercles absent on flanks in C. agarwali, C. jackieii, C. shevaroyensis, and C. thackerayi); 24–29 (rarely 30) ventral scales across belly at mid-body (versus 30–32 in C. rudhira, 30–33 ventral scales across belly at mid-body in C. salimalii, 21–24 in C. shevaroyensis, and 22–25 in C. thackerayi); males with femoral pores, single (rarely 2) precloacal pore on each side which are separated medially by 2–4 poreless scales (versus males with femoral pores, two precloacal pores on each side which are separated medially by a single poreless scale in C. agarwali, males with femoral pores, continuous series of precloacal pores in C. pachaimalaiensis, males with femoral pores, two (rarely 3) precloacal pore on each side which are separated medially by single (rarely 2) poreless scales in C. rudhira), femoral pores separated by 6–13 poreless scales from precloacal pores on either side in males (versus femoral pores separated by 1–6 poreless scales from precloacal pores on either side in males in C. thackerayi); single central dorsal ocellus each on occiput and between forelimb insertions (versus a single dorsal ocellus present on occiput and neck, two pairs on either side just anterior and sometimes posterior to forelimb insertions in C. agarwali; a single central dorsal ocellus each on occiput and neck, ocellus on neck flanked anteriorly on each side by a slightly larger ocellus in C. agayagangai; a single central ocellus on neck, flanked posteriorly by a pair of much larger squarish blotches and anteriorly by a pair of subequal squarish blotches, indistinct spot on occiput in C. fantastica; a large central black dorsal ocellus on neck flanked anteriorly and posteriorly on each side by elongate dark ocelli, smaller ocellus on occiput flanked on each side by a smaller ocellus in C. pachaimalaiensis; a single dorsal ocellus present on occiput and neck, two pairs on either side just anterior and posterior to forelimb insertions in C. shevaroyensis). (Khandekar et al. 2023) Colouration in life (Fig. 5A). Dorsum of head, body, limbs and tail base reddish. Head mottled with grey and black, yellow and dark bands on labials, two dark postorbital streaks. A single central ocellus on neck, much smaller spot on occiput. Dorsum mottled with numerous grey spots and fine black spots with a vertebral chain light elongate blotches. Dorsum of limbs mottled with yellow bands, digits with alternating dark and light bands. Tail with eight black and eight light grey bands. Venter off-white with black speckles, three indistinct pairs of black streaks on throat. (Khandekar et al. 2023) Variation. Mensural, meristic and additional character state data for the topotypes and specimens from additional localities are given in Tables 3–5 respectively. There are seven adult males, single subadult male, and three adult females and a juvenile ranging in size from 19.6–32.4 mm (Fig. 6B). All other specimens resemble described male topotype except as follows: Upper postmentals separated from each other below mental by enlarged median chin shield in NRC-AA-1254; upper postmentals bordered by mental, infralabial I, outer postmental in all topotypes, and additionally by single enlarged chin scale on each side and median chin scale in NRC-AA-1248, NRC-AA-1253, NRC-AA-1254, NRC-AA-1278 and NRC-AA-1279, one chin scale on left and three on right side in NRC-AA-1251, single median scale on either side in BNHS 3129. outer postmental bordered by inner postmental, infralabials I & II in all topotypes, and additionally, five chin scales on left and four on right side in NRC-AA-1250, NRC-AA-1251, NRC-AA-1277, three chin scales on left and four on right side in NRC-AA-1253, NRC-AA-1254; four chin scales on left and three on right side in NRC-AA-1278, NRC-AA-1279, outer postmental separated from each other medially by three enlarged chin scales in NRC-AA-1248, NRC-AA-1251, NRC-AA-1253, NRC-AA-1254, NRC-AA-1278, NRC-AA-1279, and by single enlarged median chin scale in BNHS 3129. Snout region completely damaged in NRC-AA-1255. five specimens — NRC-AA-1249, NRC-AA-1253, and NRC-AA-1255, NRC-AA-1277, NRC-AA-1278 with original and complete tails, slightly longer than body (TL/SVL 1.18, 1.14, 1.31, 127, and 120 respectively); NRC-AA-1254 with complete but only tail tip regenerated, almost equal to the body (TL/SVL 1.04); rest of the topotypes with original but incomplete tails. Dorsal colouration varies from tan or light grey to red and orange; females, subadult and juvenile overall duller than adult males, original tail distinctly banded in males and faintly in females; regenerated portion of the tail orangish in NRC-AA-1254; only a single female topotype BNHS 3129 with multiple ocelli on body and neck (Figs. 5A–F, 6). (Khandekar et al. 2023) |
| Comment | C. gracilis has been synonymized with C. kandianus previously. |
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