[Herpetology • 2019] Cnemaspis kotagamai, C. dissanayakai & C. kawminiae • Three New Species of Day Geckos (Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from Isolated Granite Cave Habitats in Sri Lanka

Cnemaspis kotagamai Karunarathna, de Silva, Botejue, Surasinghe, Wickramasinghe, Ukuwela & Bauer

in Karunarathna, de Silva, Botejue, Gabadage, Somaratna, ... et Bauer, 2019. 

amphibian-reptile-conservation.org  

 facebook.com/SuranjanKarunarathna

Abstract

Three new day gecko species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 are described from three isolated granite cave habitats with rock walls in Bambaragala (Ratnapura District), Dimbulagala (Polonnaruwa District), and Mandaramnuwara (Nuwara-Eliya District) in Sri Lanka based on morphometric and meristic characters. All of these new species are assigned to the kandiana clade based on morphology. These species are small (28–35 mm SVL) in size and may be differentiated from all other Sri Lankan congeners by a suite of distinct morphometric and meristic characters. Each of these species described herein are categorized as Critically Endangered (CR) under IUCN Red List criteria. At the microhabitat scale, they are restricted to wet, cool, and shady granite caves and rock outcrops in isolated forested areas with limited anthropogenic disturbance. Further, these habitats are located in all three main bioclimatic zones (wet, intermediate, dry) and all three geographic peneplains (frst, second, third) of Sri Lanka. Due to their restricted distributions (as point endemics), the habitats of these specialist species are vulnerable to fragmentation, edge effects, and anthropogenic activities. Therefore, these isolated forest patches in Sri Lanka are in need of special conservation attention and management.

 Keywords: Climate condition, endangered species, habitat specialist, isolated forest, point endemic, range restriction, systematics, taxonomy

 Holotype male of Cnemaspis kotagamai sp. nov. (NMSL 2018.07.01) in life in-situ in Bambaragala isolated forest hill, Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka.

 facebook.com/SuranjanKarunarathna

Rock outcrop habitat of Cnemaspis kotagamai sp. nov. at Bambaragala isolated forest hill, Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka.

Cnemaspis kotagamai sp. nov. Karunarathna, de Silva, Botejue, Surasinghe, Wickramasinghe, Ukuwela & Bauer

 Kotagama’s Day Gecko (English); 

Kotagamage Diva-seri Hoona (Sinhala); 

Kotagamavin Pahalpalli (Tamil)

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis kotagamai sp. nov. may be readily distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following morphological and meristic characteristics as well as color patterns: maximum SVL 32.6 mm; dorsum with heterogeneous, smooth intermixed with weakly keeled granular scales; 2/2 supranasals, one internasal, 2/2 postnasals; 3–4 enlarged postmentals; postmentals bounded by 5–6 chin scales; chin, gular, pectoral, and abdominal scales smooth, subimbricate; 21–22 belly scales across midbody; 6–7 well-developed tubercles on posterior fank; 114–119 paravertebral granules linearly arranged; one precloacal pore, 4–5 femoral pores in males, separated by 11–13 unpored proximal femoral scales, 2–6 unpored distal femoral scales; 131–137 ventral scales; 79–84 midbody scales; subcaudals smooth, median row comprising an irregular series of diamond-shaped, small scales; 7–8 supralabials; 7–8 infralabials; 13–15 total lamellae on 4th digit of manus, and 17–18 total lamellae on 4th digit of pes.

Etymology. The specifc epithet is an eponym Latinized (kotagamai) in the masculine genitive singular, honoring prominent Sri Lankan scientist (ornithologist), Sarath Wimalabandara Kotagama (Emeritus Professor of the University of Colombo) for his valuable contributions towards biodiversity conservation and management in Sri Lanka.

...

Remarks. Cnemaspis kotagamai sp. nov. most closely resembles C. ingerorum (southern dry zone, ~85 m asl) and C. kallima (northern wet zone, ~600 m asl) morphologically, the type localities of these species are separated by ~63 km (Sandagala in Tissamaharamaya) and ~115 km (Gammaduwa in Matale) straight line distances from Bambaragala in Pallebedda (Fig. 1). Also see the comparison with other species for more details. 

 Holotype male of Cnemaspis dissanayakai sp. nov. (NMSL 2018.20.01) in life in-situ in Dimbulagala isolated hill forest, Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka. 

 facebook.com/SuranjanKarunarathna

Cnemaspis dissanayakai sp. nov. Karunarathna, de Silva, Madawala, Karunarathna, Wickramasinghe, Ukuwela & Bauer 

Dissanayaka’s Day Gecko (English); 

Dissanayakage Diva-seri Hoona (Sinhala);

 Dissanayakavin Pahalpalli (Tamil)

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis dissanayakai sp. nov., may be readily distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following morphological and meristic characteristics: maximum SVL 29.4 mm; dorsum with homogeneous, subconical granular scales; one internasal, 2/2 supranasals, 1/1 postnasals; 29–31 interorbital scales; 15–17 supraciliaries, 11–12 canthal scales, 21–23 eye to tympanum scales; three enlarged postmentals; postmentals bounded by 6–7 chin scales; chin with smooth granules, gular, pectoral, and abdominal scales smooth, subimbricate; 17 belly scales across the venter; 6–7 well developed tubercles on posterior fank; 105–107 linearly arranged paravertebral granules; two precloacal pores, 4–5 femoral pores on each side in males separated by 10–11 unpored proximal femoral scales, 5–7 unpored distal femoral scales; 118–120 ventral scales; 94–98 midbody scales; subcaudals smooth, median row small, in an irregular series of diamond-shaped scales; 7/7 supralabials; 7/7 infralabials; 21–22 total lamellae on 4th digit of manus, and 21–22 total lamellae on 4th digit of pes.

Etymology. The specifc epithet is an eponym Latinized (dissanayakai) in the masculine genitive singular, honoring Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Karunarathna (born in Nilgala, Bibila) – father of the first author (Suranjan Karunarathna) for his encouragement, fnancial support for research, and for allowing SK to pursue his interest in wildlife.

...

Remarks. Cnemaspis dissanayakai sp. nov. most closely resembles C. kumarasinghei (east intermediate zone) and C. latha (southern intermediate zone) morphologically. The type localities of these species are separated by ~105 km (Maragala in Monaragala, ~500 m asl) and ~90 km (Bandarawela in Badulla, ~700 m asl) straight line distances from Dimbulagala in Polonnaruwa (Fig. 1). Also see the comparison with other species for more details.

Cnemaspis kawminiae sp. nov. Karunarathna, de Silva, Gabadage, Karunarathna, Wickramasinghe, Ukuwela & Bauer 

Kawmini’s Day Gecko (English); 

Kawminige Divaseri Hoona (Sinhala); 

Kawminivin Pahalpalli (Tamil)

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis kawminiae sp. nov., may be readily distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following morphological and meristic characteristics: maximum SVL 35.2 mm; dorsum with homogeneous fat granular scales; one internasal, 2/2 supranasals and 2/2 postnasals; 20–22 interorbital scales; 9–10 supraciliaries, 10–11 canthal scales, 20–22 eye to tympanum scales; three enlarged postmentals; postmentals bounded by fve chin scales; chin with smooth and round granules, gular, pectoral, and abdominal scales smooth, subimbricate; 17–21 belly scales across the venter; 7–8 weakly developed tubercles on posterior fank; 86–92 linearly arranged paravertebral granules; two precloacal pores in males, 4/4 femoral pores on each side in males separated by 11–13 unpored proximal femoral scales, 6–7 unpored distal femoral scales; 107–114 ventral scales; 76–78 midbody scales; subcaudals smooth, median row small, in an irregular series of sub-rhomboid shaped scales; 7–8 supralabials; 7–8 infralabials; 14–15 total lamellae on 4th digit of manus, and 15–16 total lamellae on 4th digit of pes.

Etymology. The specifc epithet is an eponym Latinized (kawminiae) in the feminine genitive singular, honoring Hadunneththi Kawmini Mendis – mother of the first author (Suranjan Karunarathna) for her unconditional love, generous support, and fnancial support for research.

...

Remarks. Cnemaspis kawminiae sp. nov. most closely resembles C. kumarasinghei (east intermediate zone) and C. gotaimbarai (northeast dry zone) morphologically. The type localities of these species are separated by ~80 km (Maragala in Monaragala, ~500 m asl) and ~44 km (Kokagala in Padiyathalawa, ~300 m asl) straight line distances from Mandaramnuwara (~1,500 m asl) in Nuwara-Eliya District (Fig. 1). Also see the comparison with other species for more details.

Suranjan Karunarathna, Anslem de Silva, Madhava Botejue, Dinesh Gabadage, Lankani Somaratna, Angelo Hettige, Nimantha Aberathna, Majintha Madawala, Gayan Edirisinghe, Nirmala Perera, Sulakshana Wickramaarachchi, Thilina Surasinghe, Niranjan Karunarathna, Mendis Wickramasinghe, Kanishka D.B. Ukuwela and Aaron M. Bauer. 2019. Three New Species of Day Geckos (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from Isolated Granite Cave Habitats in Sri Lanka.  Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 13(2) [General Section]: 323–354 (e216).

 amphibian-reptile-conservation.org  

 amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_13_no_2/ARC_13_2_[General_Section]_323-354_e216.pdf

 facebook.com/SuranjanKarunarathna/posts/10159356635692907

[Herpetology • 2019] Cnemaspis anslemi • A New Species of Dwarf Day Gecko (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Lower-elevations of Samanala Nature Reserve in Central massif, Sri Lanka

Cnemaspis anslemi  

Karunarathna & Ukuwela, 2019

 Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 13(2)  

 Abstract

A new day gecko species of genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 is described from a midland forested area of Udamaliboda (north-western foothills of Samanala Nature Reserve) in Sri Lanka. This species is medium in size (30–35 mm SVL) and can be differentiated from all other Sri Lankan congeners by a suite of distinct morphometric, meristic, and color characters (dorsum with smooth and homogeneous granular scales; chin, gular, pectoral, and abdominal scales smooth; precloacal pores absent in males, 14–15 femoral pores separated by 9–11 unpored interfemoral scales in males; subcaudals smooth, subhexagonal, enlarged, subequal, forming a regular median row). It was recorded from tall trees with smooth bark in home gardens, and also on clay walls in very old tall houses in wet, cool, and shady forests, distributed across mid elevations (~450–650 m) with limited anthropogenic disturbance. They can climb to heights of 7 m on vertical surfaces of trees. The most noteworthy behavior of this species is that when “scared,” it runs only upward to the canopy of the tree or along the wall to hide within crevices. The major threats for this species in Udamaliboda and other locations in lower Samanala Nature Reserve are habitat loss due to expansion of commercial-scale agriculture and monoculture plantations, and illicit forest encroachments. Therefore, these foothill forests warrant special conservation, habitat protection, further in-depth research, and specifc hands-on management practices. 

Keywords. Arboreal, conservation, ecology, rainforest, redlist, taxonomy, Sripadha, threats 

Fig. 4. Cnemaspis anslemi sp. nov. male holotype (NMSL.2019.14.01) in life in-situ.
(A) Dorsal view of the full body displaying the typical color pattern and a straight black middorsal dash over midpoint of neck, (B) Ventral aspect showing gular and femoral colorations, (C) lateral view showing labial coloration and zigzag pattern,
(D) dorsal view of the full body of female paratype (NMSL.2019.14.02) in life in-situ from Udamaliboda, Samanala Nature Reserve, Sri Lanka.

 Photos: Kanishka Ukuwela and Suranjan Karunarathna.

Cnemaspis anslemi sp. nov. 

Anslems’ Day Gecko (English) 

Anslemge divaseri hoona (Sinhala) Anslemvin pahalpalli (Tamil)

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis anslemi sp. nov. can be readily distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following morphological and meristic characteristics, and also color pattern: maximum SVL 34.4 mm; dorsum with homogeneous, smooth granular scales; 2/2 supranasals, one internasal, and 1/1 postnasal present; three enlarged postmentals; postmentals bounded by fve chin scales; chin and gular scales smooth, granular, juxtaposed; pectoral and abdominal scales smooth and subimbricate; 3–5 well developed tubercles on posterior fank; 118–122 paravertebral granules linearly arranged; 19–21 belly scales across venter; precloacal pores absent in males, 14–15 femoral pores on each side in males separated by 9–11 unpored interfemoral scales in males, and 2–3 unpored posterior femoral scales in males; 111–117 ventral scales; 87–91 midbody scales; subcaudals smooth, subhexagonal, enlarged, subequal, forming a regular median row; 8–9 supralabials; 8–9 infralabials; 16–17 total lamellae on digit IV of manus, and 20–21 total lamellae on digit IV of pes (Table 1). Dorsal body reticulated brown, black, and white; two large oval patches present on the neck; chin and gular with bright yellow, and femur dirty yellow.

Etymology. The specifc epithet is an eponym Latinized (anslemi) in the masculine genitive singular, honoring the veteran Sri Lankan herpetologist Kongahage Anslem Lawrence de Silva (the father of modern herpetology in Sri Lanka) for his valuable contributions to Sri Lankan herpetology and for inspiring the next generation of herpetologists, including the authors.

Fig. 5. General habitat of Cnemaspis anslemi sp. nov. at Udamaliboda, Samanala Nature Reserve, Kegalle District, Sri Lanka.
(A) Complete view of the forest hill, (B) shady forest with thick leaf litter, (C) hundred years old house made using clay and bricks, also with wattle and daub, (D) communal egg laying site on a clay wall.

Photos: Madhava Botejue and Suranjan Karunarathna.

Natural history. The lower Samanala Nature Reserve area (along with Udamaliboda) comprises home gardens, and tropical evergreen rainforests (Gunatileke and Gunatileke 1990) mixed with tea and rubber plantations. The area comprises the Ratnapura and Kegalle districts and ..., at an elevation of 350–850 m. The mean annual rainfall varies between 3,500 and 4,500 mm, received mostly via the southwest monsoon (May– September). The mean annual temperature of the area is 26.4–27.9 ºC. Cnemaspis anslemi sp. nov. is a quite rare species as six (± 0.1) geckos per survey-hour were found after covering a total area of 20 ha. This species was restricted to tall straight trees with smooth bark and thick canopy cover, and houses with tall clay walls with crevices. These geckos could climb up to 7 m on vertical surfaces of trees (Fig. 5). They were active during the day time (08.00–17.00 h) and, when disturbed, sought refuge in tree tops with crevices. The new species was sympatric (at local habitat scale) with several other geckos (Cnemaspis samanalensis, Cnemaspis sp., Cyrtodactylus triedrus, Cyrtodactylus sp., Gehyra mutilata, Hemidactylus depressus, H. pieresii, H. frenatus, H. parvimaculatus, and Hemiphyllodactylus typus). The eggs were pure white in color and almost spherical in shape (~5 mm), with a slightly fattened side that attached to the clay-wall substrate. This species has also been recorded from the Lihinihela, Borangamuwa, and Warnagala areas in lower Samanala Nature Reserve.

Suranjan Karunarathna and Kanishka D.B. Ukuwela. 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).