''Eublepharis pictus'', the painted leopard gecko, is a species of

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

. It lives in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It can grow to in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

. The species lives in dry evergreen forest mixed in with scrubs and meadows. ''Eublepharis pictus'' is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and has been observed foraging along trails after dusk using its

tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

as a sensory organ by licking surfaces. ''Eublepharis pictus'' has 23 to 26 rows of large flat tubercle-like keeled scales across the dorsum intermixed with smaller scales. A single pale band between the nuchal loop and the caudal constriction. Smooth subdigital

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

on digital IV of pes 19; 17–18 precloacal pores in an angulate series lacking a

diastema A diastema (: diastemata, from Greek , 'space') is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars. More colloquially, the condition may be referred to ...

. ''E. pictus'' was discovered on the year of 2022 in Andhra Pradesh, in

. The species is widespread in the forest but may be near threatened due to

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

and the illegal smuggling of ''Eublepharis pictus''. ''Eublepharis pictus'' was discovered when a dead female of the species was found in a water tank in

Vishakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of t ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. The specimen was collected washed and then placed in 4% formaldehyde for two days and later placed into 70% ethanol and deposited in the collection of the National Centre for Biological Sciences,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, India.

Morphology

'' Eublepharis angramainyu'' is a sister to all other ''

Eublepharis ''Eublepharis'' is a genus of terrestrial geckos native to eastern and southwestern Asia. The genus was first described by the British Zoology, zoologist John Edward Gray in 1827. The etymology of their name is 'eu' = good (=true) , 'blephar' = ...

'' species and the '' Eublepharis hardwickii'' group is sister to the ''

Eublepharis macularius The leopard gecko or common leopard gecko (''Eublepharis macularius'') is a ground-dwelling gecko native to the rocky dry grassland and desert regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. The leopard gecko is a popular pet, and due ...

'' clade. Relationships between the ''E. macularius'' clade have poor to moderate support. The ''E. hardwickii'' group show two distinct well-supported clades corresponding to the population from the north and south. The northern population represents ''E. hardwickii'' while the south represents an unnamed taxon which was described as ''E. pictus''. Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q112875106 pictus Lizards of India Endemic reptiles of India Fauna of Andhra Pradesh Reptiles described in 2022