You are here » home advanced search Cnemaspis godagedarai

Cnemaspis godagedarai DE SILVA, BAUER, BOTEJUE & KARUNARATHNA, 2019

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Cnemaspis godagedarai?

Add your own observation of
Cnemaspis godagedarai »

We have no photos, try to find some by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Godagedaras’ Day Gecko
Sinhala: Godagedarage Diva-seri Hoona
Tamil: Godagedaravin Pahalpalli 
SynonymCnemaspis godagedarai DE SILVA, BAUER, BOTEJUE & KARUNARATHNA 2019 
DistributionSri Lanka (Southern Province: Matara District)

Type locality: granite wall in Ensalwatte, Deniyaya, Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka (6.388767°N, 80.599781°E, WGS1984; elevation 858 m)  
Reproductionoviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: NMSL 2019.09.01, adult male, 35.5 mm SVL (Fig. 2), collected on 6 October 2018 by Suranjan Karunarathna and Anslem de Silva.
Paratypes: ADS 232, adult female, 34.2 mm SVL, and ADS 233, adult female, 34.7 mm SVL, collected from agranite wall in Ensalwatte, Deniyaya, Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka (6.389128°N, 80.605767°E, WGS1984; elevation 831 m) on 6 October 2018 by Suran- jan Karunarathna and Anslem de Silva. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Cnemaspis godagedarai sp. nov., can be readily distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners by the following combination of morphological and meristic characteristics and color pattern: maximum SVL 35.5 mm; dorsum with homogeneous, smooth, granular scales; 2/2 supranasals; one internasal and 1/1 postnasal present; 26– 28 interorbital scales present; 14–15 supraciliaries, 11–12 canthal scales, 24–26 eye to tympanum scales; three enlarged postmentals; postmentals bounded by 5–6 chin scales; chin and gular scales smooth, juxtaposed granules; pectoral and abdominal scales smooth, subimbricate; 21– 23 belly scales across venter; 5–6 weakly developed tubercles on posterior flank; 101–106 paravertebral granules linearly arranged; precloacal pores absant in males, 12–13 femoral pores in males and 8–9 unpored interfemoral scales in males; 133–137 ventral scales; 98–102 midbody scales; subcaudals smooth, large subhexagonal, subequal in width, in a regular series forming a median row; 7–8 supralabials; 7–8 infralabials; 17–18 subdigital lamellae on digit IV of manus, and 20–21 subdigital lamellae on digit IV of pes.

Comparisons with other species: The new species is a member of the C. podihuna clade sensu Agarwal et al. (2017) based on the presence of large subhexagonal subcaudals scales. However, it differs from the all the other members of the clade as follows: from C. kandambyi Batuwita and Udugampala, 2017, C. molligodai Wickramasinghe and Munindradasa, 2007 and C. podihuna Deraniyagala, 1944 by the absence (versus presence) of precloacal pores; from C. alwisi Wickramasinghe and Munindradasa, 2007, C. nilgala Karunarathna et al., 2019, C. punctata Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007 and C. rajakarunai Wickramasinghe et al., 2016 by presence of more midbody scales (98–102 versus 71–78, 71–78, 71–78 and 69–74), respectively and by fewer femoroprecloacal scales (eight versus 18–19, 14–15, 25–27 and 20–22), respectively; from C. gemunu Bauer et al., 2007 and C. phillipsi Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007 by presence of more midbody scales (98–102 versus 74–87 and 76–91), respectively and more paravertebral granules (101–106 versus 79–93 and 86–93), respectively; from C. rammalensis Vidanapathirana et al., 2014 by fewer ventral scales (133–137 versus 186–207) and by fewer femoroprecloacal scales (eight versus 19–24); from C. scalpensis (Ferguson, 1877) by more belly scales (21–23 versus 17–19), by more midbody scales (98–102 versus 81–89) and by fewer flank spines (5–6 versus 9–11).
Among species of the C. kandiana clade sensu Agarwal et al. (2017) C. godagedarai sp. nov. differs in the presense (versus absence) of clearly enlarged, hexagonal or subhexagonal subcaudal scales, and absence of precloacal pores (versus presence) from the following species: C. amith Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007, C. ingerorum Batuwita et al., 2019, C. kallima Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007, C. kandiana (Kelaart, 1852), C. kumarasinghei Wickramasinghe and Munindradasa, 2007, C. latha Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007, C. menikay ManamendraArachchi et al., 2007, C. pava Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007, C. pulchra Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007, C. retigalensis Wickramasinghe and Munindradasa, 2007, C. samanalensis Wickramasinghe and Munindradasa, 2007, C. silvula Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007, C. tropidogaster (Boulenger, 1885), and C. upendrai Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007. 
CommentHabitat: Mesua-Doona-dominated tropical evergreen rainforest in the lowland wet zone of southern Sri Lanka.

Similar species: Cnemaspis godagedarai sp. nov. most closely resembles C. gemunu, C. phillipsi, and C. scalpensis.

Sympatry: Cnemaspis pulchra, Cyrtodactylus subsolanus. 
EtymologyThe specific epithet is an eponym Latinized (godagedarai) in the masculine genitive singular, honoring Sri Lankan warrior Godagedara Rate Adhikaram for his valiant feats in the Great Rebellion of 1817–1818, which was initiated in Uva-Wellassa. 
References
  • 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; 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
  • Kwet, A. 2020. Liste der im Jahr 2019 neubeschriebenen Reptilien. Elaphe 2020 (3): 44-67
  • Silva A de, Bauer AM, Botejue M, Karunarathna S. 2019. A new species of endemic day gecko (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from a wet zone forest in the second peneplain of Southern Sri Lanka. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): 198–208 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator