v10i1.245

Submitted date: 18 February 2021
Accepted date: 10 May 2021
Published date: 27 May 2021
Pp. 23–38, pls. 3–8.

TWO NEW RUPICOLOUS DAY GECKOS OF THE Cnemaspis alwisi GROUP (REPTILIA: GEKKONIDAE) FROM SRI LANKA

A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe*, Suranjan Karunarathna, Majintha Madawala & Anslem de Silva
*Corresponding author. E-mail: thasun.amarasinghe@ui.ac.id

Abstract
We investigated diminutive day geckos of the genus Cnemaspis in Sri Lanka, and based on morphological evidence, two populations belonging to the C. alwisi group within the C. podihuna clade are described. Both populations are morphologically closely allied to C. hitihamii, but can be clearly distinguished based on a combination of morphological characters, hence named here as two new species. The two new species occur respectively in (i) lowland dryzone (alt. 385 m a.s.l.) forests which have a dense tree cover in Ritigala Nature Reserve, Anuradhapura District and (ii) lowland wetzone (alt. 50 m a.s.l.) forests and adjacent human habitations which have a dense tree cover in Gampaha District, near Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. We also update the available key for these and previously recognized species from Sri Lanka, based on collected material and literature.

Key words : Colombo, Cnemaspis hitihamii, Ritigala Nature Reserve, urban biodiversity, taxonomy

Section Editor: S.R. Chandramouli
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org