''Calodactylodes illingworthorum'' 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 throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

, a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

in the family Gekkonidae. The species is known only from the island of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Common names for ''C. illingworthorum'' include the golden gecko, Illingworths' gecko, Illingworths' golden gecko, and the Sri Lankan golden gecko.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''illingworthorum'', which is genitive plural, is in honor of Margaret and Percy Illingworth.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Calodactylodes illingworthi'', p. 129).

Habitat and geographic range

A large, rock-dwelling gecko from the dry zone of Sri Lanka, ''C. illingworthorum'' is distributed in the monsoon forests of the eastern parts of the country, such as

Namadagala Namadagala is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya D ...

, Monaragala, Nilgala, Gal Oya National Park,

Buttala Buttala (බුත්තල) is a town in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially th ...

, and

Ampara Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. Hi ...

Description

The head of ''C. illingworthorum'' is wider than the body. The pupil of the eye is vertical. There are two pairs of enlarged, nearly rectangular lamellae under each finger and toe. The tail has 27 segments. The dorsum is a yellow-ochre color with dark brown spots. The throat is either bright yellow or orange. The chest and venter are pale gray or yellow. There are 4 pre-anal pores and 4 to 10 femoral pores.

Ecology and diet

''C. illingworthorum'' inhabits rocky

biotopes A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...

, such as granitic caves within

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

and monsoon forests. A single cave may house up to 50 individuals. Its diet comprises large insects, such as

dipterans Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

, coleopterans, their larvae, glow-worms, and other

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. Its call uttered throughout the day, and more commonly at dusk, is a harsh, chuckling note. It leaves its rock habitat by dusk to the adjoining vegetation for foraging and returns in the morning.

Reproduction

''C. illingworthorum'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

. Eggs, measuring 14.9 x 8.2 mm (0.59 x 0.32 inches) are produced at communal nesting sites, glued to rock surfaces. Over 100 eggs are produced at a time. Each hatchling measures in total length (including tail).

References

External links

*http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Calodactylodes&species=illingworthorum *https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229429001_Natural_history_and_conservation_status_of_Calodactylodes_illingworthorum_Deraniyagala_1953_(Sauria_Gekkonidae)_in_south-eastern_Sri_Lanka

External sources

*http://www.bioacoustics.info/article/call-sri-lankan-golden-gecko-calodactylodes-illingworthorum-ecological-parallel-fan-toed *http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Calodactylodes_illingworthorum/classification/