New species of gecko found in the Eastern Ghats
Context: A new species of lizard, the smallest known Indian gekkonid, has been discovered in the Eastern Ghats.
- In India, 45 diverse species of Cnemaspis have been found, of which 34 are from the Western Ghats.
- The newly discovered dwarf gecko - Cnemaspis avasabinae is the twelfth species to be discovered outside the Western Ghats and also the first species reported from the Velikonda Range in Andhra Pradesh.
- It is likely that each hill range or isolated forest patch may have its own species.
- The new species was sighted in a dry evergreen forest among the rocks beneath a small stream at a height of less than 200 metres above sea level
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