Cnemaspis gemunu BAUER, DE SILVA, GREENBAUM & JACKMAN, 2007
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Cnemaspis gemunu?
Cnemaspis gemunu
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Cnemaspis gemunu BAUER, DE SILVA, GREENBAUM & JACKMAN 2007 Cnemaspis gemunu — MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI et al. 2007 Cnemaspis gemunu — KARUNARATHNA & UKUWELA 2019 |
| Distribution | Sri Lanka (Nuwara Eliya District (Central Province) Type locality: Botanical garden of Hakgala, Nuwara Eliya District (Central Province), Sri Lanka, (6°55’30’’ N, 80°49’15’’ E), 1660m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: NMSL (AMB 7495 = AM Bauer collection in original description); “to be deposited in the National Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka” (= NMSL) |
| Diagnosis | |
| Comment | Cnemaspis gemunu is distinctive relative to all other recognized Sri Lankan congeners in possessing enlarged subcaudal scales that are pentagonal to hexagonal in shape, in having 12 femoral pores and no precloacal pores, and in its dorsal pattern of chevrons. The species is most similar to the Indian C. jerdonii. Molecular data support both the distinctiveness of this taxon with respect to other Sri Lankan day geckos and its affinities with C. podihuna and C. scalpensis. Similar species: Karunarathna & Ukuwela 2019 believe that Cnemaspis cf. gemunu (AMB 7507, now in NMSL) collected from Borangamuwa in Ratnapura District (6.742778°N, 80.707778°E; elevation about 800 m) most likely represents C. anslemi sp. nov. according to the currently known distribution pattern (see Agarwal et al. 2017). |
| Etymology | Named after Prince Gemunu (161–137 B.C.; also known as Gamani and later as King Dutugemunu), and used as noun in apposition. This warrior king spent several years in hiding from the wrath of his father in the central hills of Sri Lanka. He subsequently succeeded his father as king and ultimately defeated the invading armies of the Indian King Elara, who had been based in Anuradhapura, and united all of Sri Lanka under his rule. The name refers to the new species, which was also “hidden” in the hills of central Sri Lanka. It also pays homage to our friend and colleague Rainer Günther whose given name is derived from Old German and may be variously translated as “deciding warrior” or “ruler” and who is sometimes known to his friends as “der Froschkönig.” |
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