Palakkadensis – discovery of new species of gecko in Kerala

Amit Sayyad, a herpetologist (zoologist who studies reptiles and amphibians) discovered a new species of gecko (small lizards found in warm climate) on the Western Ghats in Kerala. It has been named Palakkad Dwarf Gecko or Cnemaspis palakkadensis, after Palakkad, where it was found. Though it has similarities with coastal day gecko, it varies genetically.

It is tiny, just about the size of a human finger. It has black and brown patches on the upper side of its body and an orange shade on its chin and lower part of its body. It does not have a spine-line tubercles (small round projection on a bone). The feed of dwarf gecko includes insects and worms.