The geckos were discovered by a university team on a night survey in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape in Central Nepal, a mountain area in Nepal when they documented four populations of bent-toed geckos in four distinct locations.
Three new gecko species have been discovered in Nepal by researchers from the Federation University in Australia. The geckos were discovered by a university team led by Santosh Bhattarai, who is working on a Ph.D at the university. The research team were on a night survey in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape in Central Nepal, a mountain area in Nepal when they documented four populations of bent-toed geckos in four distinct locations.
They looked at the lizards and, based on differences in coloration and body patterns, suspected they could represent new species. The team of scientists then performed genetic testing. That testing combined with body characteristics, confirmed three new species.
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Bhattarai, a former conservation officer in Nepal, says the unique geography of the country lends itself to rich in flora and fauna.
“Because of that diversity and the abundance of wildlife, previous conservation efforts in Nepal have focused more on the larger and well-known species. Nepal has tigers, rhinoceros, and elephants in the lowlands, as well as other mammals like snow leopards and red pandas in the Himalayas,” Bhattarai said in a Federation University news article detailing the discovery. But because of global climate change and other environmental issues, including habitat fragmentation, under-studied species like these geckos are vulnerable.
“My core interest has always been in reptiles and amphibians, such as lizards, frogs and snakes. To survive, they need a special kind of environment, and if there is a slight change in their habitat, there is a risk that some species could become extinct.”
The new species are the ACAP bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus annapurnaensis), named after the Annapurna Conservation Area in which it was first discovered; the Chitwan bent-toed gecko, (Cytrodactylus chitwanensis); and Cyrtodactylus karanshahi, named after renowned Nepali herpetologist Prof. Karan Bahadur Shah, who has contributed to the field of herpetology for more than 40 years.
An abstract of the paper describing the new species, A review of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray 1827 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) of Nepal with descriptions of three new species,” can be read on the Zootaxa website.
