Cnemaspis Gunasekarai
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''Cnemaspis gunasekarai'', or Gunasekara's day gecko, is a species of diurnal rupicolous
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 ...
endemic to 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 ...
.


Taxonomy

The species is closely resembling ''C. nilgala'', ''C. hitihamii'', and other congeners of the ''alwisi'' group.


Etymology

The specific name ''gunasekarai'' is named in honor of Samantha Gunasekara, who contributed to biodiversity conservation in Sri Lanka. He is a leading environmental activist, conservationist, and former deputy director of Sri Lanka Customs.


Description

An adult male is 34.6 mm long. Dorsum homogeneous with keeled granular scales. There are four or five spine-like tubercles on flanks. Dorsum patterned with creamy vertebral markings on a uniform yellowish brown background. Snout is dark yellowish brown. There are two dark brown blotches behind the eye. A bright yellow and black stripe visible on the neck. Arms and legs uniform light brown with pale and dark blotches. Tail is yellowish brown with ten pale yellow markings.


Ecology

The gecko is restricted to Ritigala wet forest patch. Entirely wild species, it is commonly inhabited in dry, shaded, cool surfaces of large rock outcrops or within caves. The researchers suggested critically endangered IUCN category for the species due to point endemism.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107292582 Reptiles of Sri Lanka gunasekarai Reptiles described in 2021