JEYPORE GROUND GECKO
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Context: A reptile endemic to India, the Jeypore Ground Gecko (Cyrtodactylus jeyporensis), has been included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
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Details:
- The animals listed under Appendix II may not necessarily be threatened with extinction, but trade in such species should be controlled to ensure it does not threaten their existence.
- The proposal to include the gecko in Appendix II was made by India at the recently-concluded 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) to CITES in Panama City. The proposal was adopted by the members of the Working Group.
About:
- In 2019, the Jeypore Ground Gecko was assessed for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species and was listed as ‘endangered’.
- The species is rare and was first described by British officer and amateur naturalist Colonel Richard Henry Beddome in 1878 and rediscovered by a team of researchers led by Ishan Agarwal in 2010 and 2011, after a gap of over 130 years.
- The wild reptile species is found in the Eastern Ghats and is known to be present in four locations including southern Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh.
- Its occurrence is estimated in less than 5,000 square kilometres of fragmented geographical area. The species resides below rock boulders in high forested hills at an altitude of 1,100-1,400 metres.
- The reptile is popular among breeders in and outside India. The international pet trade market makes it increasingly vulnerable for its survival.
- The proposal document also notes habitat loss and degradation, forest fires, tourism, quarrying and mining activity among other reasons for the species’ decline.
- The species does not occur in the protected areas described under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby making it highly vulnerable to habitat loss and poaching for domestic and international trade.
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