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

Karunarathna, Suranjan; Poyarkov, Nikolay A.; Silva, Anslem de; Madawala, Majintha; Botejue, Madhava; Gorin, Vladislav A.; Surasinghe, Thilina D.; Gabadage, Dinesh; Ukuwela, Kanishka D. B.; Bauer, Aaron M.

doi:10.26049/vz69-3-2019-02

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“…Specimens that formerly belonged to the Wildlife Heritage Trust (WHT) collection, which bear WHT numbers, are currently deposited at the NMSL, and were catalogued under their original numbers. Additional information on the morphology and natural history of Sri Lankan Cnemaspis species was obtained from the relevant literature (Bauer et al 2007;Manamendra-Arachchi et al 2007;Wickramasinghe and Munindradasa 2007;Vidanapathirana et al 2014;Wickramasinghe et al 2016;Agarwal et al 2017;Batuwita and Udugampala 2017;Batuwita et al 2019;de Silva et al 2019;Karunarathna et al 2019aKarunarathna et al , 2019bKarunarathna et al , 2019cKarunarathna and Ukuwela 2019;Amarasinghe and Karunarathna 2020;Karunarathna et al 2021;Amarasinghe et al 2021a). Assignment of unidentified specimens to the new species was based on their morphometric and meristic characters, colour patterns and the level of geographic isolation, and the species limits were tested independently by molecular phylogenetic methods.…”

Section: Field Sampling and Specimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assignment of unidentified specimens to the new species was based on their morphometric and meristic characters, colour patterns and the level of geographic isolation, and the species limits were tested independently by molecular phylogenetic methods. These new species have not been included in previously published phylogenies (see Agarwal et al 2017;Karunarathna et al 2019cKarunarathna et al , 2021.…”

Section: Field Sampling and Specimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sri Lankan Cnemaspis represent about ~20% of global Cnemaspis richness despite occupying a small fraction of the global distribution area of the genus. Recent progress in studying the herpetofauna of the island has resulted in the discovery of many new species of Cnemaspis (de Silva et al 2019;Karunarathna et al 2019aKarunarathna et al , 2019bKarunarathna et al , 2019c) of which 50% have been described in the last decade. Most (~73%) of the Cnemaspis species in Sri Lanka occur within the wet bioclimatic zone (annual rainfall ≥ 2500 mm).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sri Lankan Cnemaspis species represent two distinct evolutionary lineages, the kandiana and podihuna clades (Agarwal et al 2017;Karunarathna et al 2021;Pal et al 2021). The species of the kandiana clade are morphologically characterized by small and irregularly shaped subcaudal scales, and the species of the podihuna clade are characterized by clearly enlarged, hexagonal or subhexagonal subcaudal scales (Karunarathna et al 2019c). The high Cnemaspis species richness in Sri Lanka may be ac-counted for by possible multiple colonizations from the Indian mainland with isolated in-situ speciation and radiation (Agarwal et al 2017(Agarwal et al , 2020Pal et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…gunasekarai Amarasinghe et al, 2021a;C. hitihamii Karunarathna et al, 2019c;C. kohukumburai Karunarathna et al, 2019c;C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A phylogenetic and taxonomic assessment of the Cnemaspis alwisi group (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) in Sri Lanka with a description of two new species from isolated misty-mountains

Karunarathna¹,

Ukuwela²,

Silva³

et al. 2023

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Sri Lanka is a local hotspot for Cnemaspis day geckos with 40 currently known species with 100% endemism. In this paper, we evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of Cnemaspis species belonging to the alwisi group of the podihuna clade and describe two additional new species of Cnemaspis from Sri Lanka; one from Galgiriya mountain, Kurunegala District, and another from Ethagala mountain, Ampara District. These new species were recorded from granite caves within forested areas in isolated mountains in the dry bioclimatic zone (point-endemics). Both new species are microhabitat specialists with narrow niches limited to humid, cool, canopy-shaded granite caves and old buildings associated with granite caves, where they are camouflaged by their cryptic morphology and body colouration. Furthermore, both species prefer narrow (~ 6–12 mm), long (~ 120–450 mm) and deep (~ 80–260 mm) crevices as refugia. The regions in which these habitats are located receive relatively low annual rainfall (1,000–1,500 mm). These new species are medium in size (28.5–36.8 mmSVL) and can be differentiated from all other Sri Lankan Cnemaspis by the presence of clearly enlarged, subhexagonal subcaudal scales and the absence of precloacal pores in males. Both species described here are categorised herein as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN Red List criteria. The major threats for these new species are habitat loss due to expansion of commercial-scale agriculture, illicit forest encroachments, and forest fires. Therefore, we recommend that relevant authorities take immediate conservation action to ensure the protection of these forest areas with their buffer zones in the near future.

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