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Ceratophora karu PETHIYAGODA & MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI, 1998

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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymCeratophora karu PETHIYAGODA & MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI 1998
Ceratophora karu — JANZEN et al. 2007 
DistributionSri Lanka (Ceylon)

Type locality: Morningside F.R. (near Rakwana), 1060 m elevaon (06°24'N, 80°38'E).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1996.445, male; paratypes: BMNH, NMSL (= WHT) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Ceratophora karu is distinguished from all other Ceratophora (except C. tennentii and C. aspera) by the rostral appendage being complex, comprising more scales than rostral scale alone (Fig. 22) (vs. rostral appendage restricted to rostral scale alone in C. erdeleni and C. stoddartii). It is distinguished from C. tennentii by the presence of prominent superciliary scales (vs. absent in C. tennentii) and from C. aspera by the absence of a palpable squamosal process (Fig. 30) (vs. squamosal process present (Fig. 10) in C. aspera). 
CommentC. karu is ground-dwelling and the only fast-moving lizard containing a rostrum composed of numerous pointed scales. The rostrum of C. karu lacks the fleshy protuberence characteristic of horned Ceratophora, however. The ranges of C. erdeleni and C. karu overlap in the Morningside Forest Reserve.

Rare and critically endangered in Sri Lanka (BAHIR & SURASINGHE 2005).

Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). 
EtymologyThe species name is a patronym commemorating the late Punchi Banda Karunaratne, mentor, guide and friend both to ourselves and so many other investigators of Sri Lanka's natural wealth, universally known to friends and colleagues simply as "Karu," which diminutive form we use here with respect and affection as a noun in apposition. 
References
  • Bahir, M.M. & T. Surasinghe 2005. A conservation assessment of the Sri Lankan Agamidae (Reptilia: Sauria). Raffles Bull. Zool., Suppl. No. 12: 407-412 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Janzen, P.; Klaas, P. & Ziesmann, S. 2007. Die Agamen der Insel [Sri Lanka]. Draco 7 (30): 24-33 - get paper here
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • Pethiyagoda, R. & K. Manamendra-Arachchi 1998. A revision of the endemic Sri Lankan agamid lizard genus Ceratophora Gray, 1835, with description of two new species. Journal of South Asian natural History 3 (1): 1
  • Samarawickrama, V.A.M.P.K.; H.I.G.C. Kumara, D.R.N.S. Samarawickrama 2019. Diversity of Reptiles in the Eastern and Southern parts of the Sinharaja Rain Forest. Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment - get paper here
  • Schulte, II , James A.; J. Robert Macey, Rohan Pethiyagoda and Allan Larson 2002. Rostral Horn Evolution among Agamid Lizards of the Genus Ceratophora Endemic to Sri Lanka. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 22: 111-117 - get paper here
  • Somaweera, R. & Somaweera, N. 2009. Lizards of Sri Lanka: a colour guide with field keys. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 304 pp.
 
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