Cnemaspis Gunawardanai
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''Cnemaspis gunawardanai'', or Gunawardana'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. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...
endemic to island of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.


Taxonomy

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


Etymology

The specific name ''gunawardanai'' is named in honor of Dr. Jagath Gunawardana. He is a leading environmental activist, conservationist, and a lawyer contributed to popularizing environmental laws among the general public.


Description

An adult male is 37.4 mm long. Dorsum homogeneous with keeled granular scales. There are four spine-like tubercles on flanks. Dorsum patterned with creamy and yellowish vertebral markings on a uniform dark brown background. Snout is light brown. There is a black spot on the neck. A a vertebral cream stripe shading visible posteriorly. Arms and legs uniform dark brown with pale and dark blotches. Tail is dark brown with six pale yellow markings.


Ecology

The gecko found only from two localities: Pilikuttuwa and Maligatenna, Gampaha district. Entirely wild species, it is commonly inhabited in dry, shaded, cool surfaces of rock outcrops inside caves. The researchers suggested critically endangered IUCN category for the species due to regional endemism.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107292576 Reptiles of Sri Lanka gunawardanai Reptiles described in 2021