Jerdon's day gecko (Cnemaspis jerdonii) is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to India and Sri Lanka.
| Jerdon's day gecko | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Genus: | Cnemaspis |
| Species: | C. jerdonii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cnemaspis jerdonii (Theobald, 1868)
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Etymology
editThe specific name, jerdonii, is in honor of British biologist Thomas C. Jerdon.[3]
Habitat
editThe preferred natural habitat of C. jerdonii is forest, at altitudes of 200–1,900 m (660–6,230 ft).[1]
Description
editIn habitus, Cnemaspis jerdonii is similar to Cnemaspis kandianus and Cnemaspis gracilis. Its digits are not dilated, but with rather large plates under the basal part, the most distal of these plates being the largest and longitudinally oval in shape. Its upper surface is covered with uniform, small granules, smooth on the back, a little larger and keeled on the snout; a few erect spine-like tubercles are on the flanks. The rostral is four-sided, nearly twice as broad as deep, with a median cleft above; the nostrils are pierced between the rostral and the three nasals; eight to 10 upper and seven or eight lower labials are present; the mental is large, triangular or pentagonal, with small chin-shields passing gradually into the granules of the throat, which are rather large, flat, and smooth. Ventral scales are hexagonal, imbricate, and smooth. The male has five to 12 femoral pores on each side, with no preanal pores. The tail is cylindrical, tapering, and covered with smooth scales, in its basal half with a few scattered larger tubercles; the median series of subcaudals is enlarged. In color, it is grey-brown above, clouded with darker; the small lateral spines are white, sometimes with a black cervical spot; it is whitish beneath, the throat is sometimes brown-dotted.[4]
Reproduction
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Srinivasulu C, Srinivasulu B (2013). "Cnemaspis jerdonii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T172630A1355610. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172630A1355610.en. Downloaded on 04 January 2018.
- ^ a b Species Cnemaspis jerdonii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Cnemaspis jerdoni [sic]", p. 134).
- ^ Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Gonatodes jerdonii, pp. 78-79).
Further reading
edit- Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I–XXXII. (Gonatodes jerdonii, new combination, p. 71).
- Ferguson W (1877). Reptile Fauna of Ceylon: Letter on a Collection sent to the Colombo Museum. Colombo: William Henry Herbert, Government Printer. 42 pp.
- Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. ("Cnemaspis jerdoni [sic]", new combination, pp. 74–75).
- Taylor EH (1953). "A review of the lizards of Ceylon". University of Kansas Science Bulletin 35: 1525–1585.
- Theobald W (1868). "Catalogue of Reptiles in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta 37 (2) (extra number 146): vi + 7–88. (Gymnodactylus jerdonii, new species, p. 31).