Researchers recently described 12 new gecko species from the Western Ghats, 10 of which are endemic and found nowhere else in the world. So...
Researchers recently described 12 new gecko species from the Western Ghats, 10 of which are endemic and found nowhere else in the world. Some of them got quirky names, after their traits, like the Jackie Chan gecko – named for its stealthy characteristic and being “nearly impossible to catch”.
“The new species was found to be very fast and moved rapidly on rocks and boulders, sneaking into the smallest crevices to escape when approached, reminiscent of the stunts of Jackie Chan,” Saunak Pal, a scientist at the Bombay Natural History Society who was part of the expedition and helped describe the species, told Mongabay.
Scientists found the Jackie’s day gecko (Cnemaspis jackieii) and 11 other new-to-science species during four years of sampling in the Western Ghats. Descriptions of the geckos, as well as an updated phylogeny of the genus, have been published in the journal Zoological Research.
The new geckos belong to the genus Cnemaspis, known as the “day geckos” because of their circular eye pupils, more adapted to daytime light conditions than the slit-like pupils often seen in nocturnal geckos.
Unlike most other geckos, the day geckos are not great at vertical climbing. So, while some Cnemaspis can be found on trees (and a few species are completely arboreal), most dwell in...
