Cnemaspis butewai KARUNARATHNA, POYARKOV, DE SILVA, MADAWALA, BOTEJUE, GORIN, SURASINGHE, GABADAGE, UKUWELA & BAUER, 2019
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Cnemaspis butewai
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Butewes’ day gecko Singhala: Butewege diva-seri hoona |
| Synonym | Cnemaspis butewai KARUNARATHNA, POYARKOV, DE SILVA, MADAWALA, BOTEJUE, GORIN, SURASINGHE, GABADAGE, UKUWELA & BAUER 2019 |
| Distribution | Sri Lanka (Sabaragamuwa) Type locality: large granite cave in Bambarabotuwa, Opanayake, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka (6.630364° N, 80.628925° E, WGS1984; elevation 445 m |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. NMSL.2019.07.01, adult male, 31.7 mm SVL (Fig. 16), collected around 12.00 hrs) on 26 November 2018 by Suranjan Karunarathna and Anslem de Silva. Paratypes. NMSL.2019.07.02, adult female, 27.2 mm SVL, and NMSL.2019.07.03, Adult male, 31.8 mm SVL, collected from a large granite cave in Bambarabotuwa, Opanayake, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka (6.646919° N, 80.653892° E, WGS1984; elevation 458 m; around 11.00 hrs) on 26 November 2018 by Suranjan Karunarathna and Anslem de Silva. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Cnemaspis butewai sp. nov., can be readily distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following morphological and meristic characteristics: maximum SVL 31.8 mm; dorsum with heterogeneous, smooth, granular scales; 1 – 2 internasals, 2/2 supranasals and 1 – 2 postnasal present; 37 – 39 interorbital scales; 15 – 17 supraciliaries, 10 – 11 canthal scales, 23 – 26 eye to tympanum scales; 3 enlarged postmentals; postmentals bounded by 5 – 6 chin scales; gular scales keeled, chin, pectoral and abdominal scales smooth, subimbricate; 23 – 25 belly scales across the venter; 5 – 6 weakly developed tubercles on posterior flank; 134 – 138 paravertebral granules linearly arranged; 3 – 5 precloacal pores, 5 femoral pores on each side in males separated by 9 – 10 unpored anterior femoral scales, 2 – 3 unpored posterior femoral scales; 125 – 128 ventral scales; 92 – 98 midbody scales; subcaudals smooth, median row comprising a regular series of small, diamond shaped scales; 8 supralabials; 7 – 8 infralabials; 16 total lamellae on fourth digit of manus, and 17 – 18 total lamellae on fourth digit of pes. Comparisons with other species. Among species of the C. kandiana clade sensu Agarwal et al. (2017) C. butewai sp. nov. differs by having heterogeneous (versus homogeneous) dorsal scales from C. amith, C. gotaimbarai sp. nov., C. kumarasinghei, C. latha, and C. nandimithrai sp. nov.; it can also be diagnosed from C. ingerorum, C. pava, C. pulchra, C. samanalensis, C. silvula, C. tropidogaster and C. upendrai by having smooth (versus keeled) pectoral and gular scales. The new species differs from C. kandiana and C. retigalensis in having more belly scales (23 – 25 versus 19 – 20 and 16 – 20, respectively), more femoral pores (5 versus 3 – 4 and 3 – 4), and in having more precloacal pores (3 – 5 versus 2 – 4 and 1, respectively). It differs from C. menikay in having more femoral pores (5 versus 3 – 4), and more precloacal pores (3 – 5 versus 1 – 2) and from C. kallima by having fewer tubercles on the posterior flank (5 – 6 versus 12 – 15), and keeled (versus smooth) gular scales. The new species clearly differs from the species of the C. podihuna clade sensu Agarwal et al. (2017): from C. alwisi, C. gemunu, C. godagedarai, C. hitihami sp. nov., C. kohukumburai sp. nov., C. nilgala, C. phillipsi, C. punctata, C. rajakarunai, C. rammalensis and C. scalpensis by the presence (versus absence) of precloacal pores, and by the absence (versus presence) of clearly enlarged, hexagonal or subhexagonal subcaudal scales from C. kandambyi, C. molligodai and C. podihuna it differ by having heterogeneous (versus homogeneous) dorsal scales and by the absence of clearly enlarged, hexagonal or subhexagonal subcaudal scales. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is an eponym Latinized (butewai) in the masculine genitive singular, honouring the Sri Lankan warrior ‘Butewe Rate Rala’ for his valiant feats in the Great Rebellion of 1817 – 1818, which was initiated in Uva-Wellassa. |
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