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Cnemaspis alwisi MENDIS WICKRAMASINGHE & MUNINDRADASA, 2007

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Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Alwis’s day gecko
Sinhala: Alwisge diva huna
Tamil: Alwisin pahal palli 
SynonymCnemaspis alwisi MENDIS WICKRAMASINGHE & MUNINDRADASA 2007
Cnemaspis alwisi — MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI et al. 2007 
DistributionSri Lanka (Retigala and Maragala mountains, Nilgala area)

Type locality: Dolukanda, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, (N 07° 37’ 07.8” E 80° 24’ 50.3”, elevation 152m).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMSL 2004.9.1, Adult male, 39.92 mm SVL, 23.12.2003, collected by L . J. Mendis Wickramasinghe and D. A. I. Munindradasa. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A medium-sized Cnemaspis (snout to vent length 33–40 mm in adults), which can be distin guished from all known congeners by the following combination of characters: Postmentals separated by a small scale; nostrils are not in contact with first supralabial; 15 supra labials to angle of mid-orbit position and end of jaw at nine supra labials; 32 interorbitals; throat scales smooth; dorsal tubercles 90–92 small, rounded, pentagonal or hexagonal; absence of groups of carinated large scales in dorsal body; spine-like tubercles absent on flanks; 28 midventrals; ventral scales smooth and imbricate; mid-subcaudals large; no pre anal pores; 7–8 femoral pores on each side; 13 subdigital lamellae and 3 basal lamellae in the 4th finger; 15 subdigital lamellae and 3 basal lamellae in the 4th toe; segmented tail; dorsal part of tail with flushed and smooth scales, rarely intermixed with large semicircular prominent tubercles.
C. alwisi sp. nov. is congener with C. ranwellai and C. scalpensis from morphological characters. However, C. alwisi can easily be distinguished from both by having two internarsals and low count of lamella in forth finger and toe, and femoral pores, and from C. ranwellai by the separated postmental (more than 90% of C. ranwellai population in the type locality shows contacted postmental), the dorsal tubercle count and ventral scale count, and from C. scalpensis by the intraorbital count, dorsal tubercle count and ventral count, and also from the morphometric analysis.
 
CommentGroup: The original C. alwisi group (4 species: Cnemaspis alwisi, C. punctata, C. rammalensis, and C. rajakarunai sp. nov.) is characterized by femoral pores present and precloacal pores absent, mid subcaudal scales extremely large, and abdominal scales smooth (Wickramasinghe et al. 2016). More recently, Amarasinghe et al. 2021 included 9 species in the alwisi group: C. alwisi, C. hitihamii, C. kohukumburai, C. nilgala, C. punctata, C. rajakarunai, C. rammalensis, C. gunasekarai and C. gunawardanai. They also provide a table of diagnostic characters for the group (Table 2).

Distribution: Amarasinghe et al. 2021: 36 provide a map of localities for members of the alwisi group in Fig. 7. 
EtymologyThe species is an eponym in the Latin genitive singular honouring Lyn De Alwis, for his initiative in igniting a research culture in the country leading to Conservation of Wildlife resources. 
References
  • Agarwal, I., Biswas, S., Bauer, A.M., Greenbaum, E., Jackman, T.R., De Silva, A. & Batuwita, S. 2017. Cryptic species, taxonomic inflation, or a bit of both? New species phenomenon in Sri Lanka as suggested by a phylogeny of dwarf geckos (Reptilia, Squamata, Gekkonidae, Cnemaspis). Systematics and Biodiversity, 15, 427–439 - get paper here
  • Amarasinghe, A. T., Karunarathna, S., Madawala, M., & de Silva, A. 2021. TWO NEW RUPICOLOUS DAY GECKOS OF THE Cnemaspis alwisi GROUP (REPTILIA: GEKKONIDAE) FROM SRI LANKA. TAPROBANICA, 10 (1): pp. 23–38 - get paper here
  • Barts, M. 2007. Sechs neue Taggeckos aus der Gattung Cnemaspis. Draco 7 (30): 93-96 - 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
  • Karunarathna S, Ukuwela KDB. 2019. A new species of dwarf day gecko (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from lower-elevations of Samanala Nature Reserve in Central massif, Sri Lanka. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [General Section]: 14–27 (e187) - get paper here
  • Karunarathna, Suranjan D. M. S. and A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe 2011. A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE REPTILE FAUNA IN NILGALA FOREST AND ITS VICINITY, MONARAGALA DISTRICT, SRI LANKA. Taprobanica 3 (2): 69-76 - get paper here
  • KARUNARATHNA, SURANJAN; AARON M. BAUER, ANSLEM DE SILVA, THILINA SURASINGHE, LANKANI SOMARATNA, MAJINTHA MADAWALA, DINESH GABADAGE, MADHAVA BOTEJUE, SUJAN HENKANATHTHEGEDARA, KANISHKA D.B. UKUWELA 2019. Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 4545 (3): 389–407 - get paper here
  • Karunarathna, Suranjan; Nikolay A. Poyarkov, Anslem de Silva, Majintha Madawala, Madhava Botejue, Vladislav A. Gorin, Thilina Surasinghe, Dinesh Gabadage, Kanishka D.B. Ukuwela & Aaron M. Bauer 2019. Integrative taxonomy reveals six new species of day geckos of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from geographically-isolated hill forests in Sri Lanka. Vertebrate Zoology 69 (3): 247–298 - get paper here
  • Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum; Batuwita, Sudesh & Pethiyagoda, Rohan 2007. A taxonomic revision of the Sri Lankan day-geckos (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis), with description of new species from Sri Lanka and southern India. Zeylanica 7 (1): 9-122
  • Somaweera, R. & Somaweera, N. 2009. Lizards of Sri Lanka: a colour guide with field keys. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 304 pp.
  • VIDANAPATHIRANA, DULAN RANGA; M. D. GEHAN RAJEEV, NETHU WICKRAMASINGHE, SAMANTHA SURANJAN FERNANDO & L. J. MENDIS WICKRAMASINGHE & L. J. MENDIS WICKRAMASINGHE 2014. Cnemaspis rammalensis sp. nov., Sri Lanka’s largest day-gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Rammalakanda Man and Biosphere Reserve in southern Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 3755 (3): 273–286 - get paper here
  • WICKRAMASINGHE, L. J. MENDIS; DULAN RANGA VIDANAPATHIRANA, R. M. GAYAN PRIYANKARA RATHNAYAKE 2016. Cnemaspis rajakarunai sp. nov., a rock dwelling day-gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Salgala, an unprotected lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 4168 (1): 092–108 - get paper here
  • Wickramasinghe, L.J. MENDIS; & D. A. I. MUNINDRADASA 2007. Review of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in Sri Lanka with the description of five new species. Zootaxa 1490: 1-63 - get paper here
 
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