New research: Gecko found in Andhra, Odisha turns out to be a new species

Researchers Zeeshan A Mirza and C Gnaneswar had initially identified the specimen, which they had found dead in a water tank, as an East Indian Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis hardwickii).

An uncollected live specimen of Eublepharis pictus. (Pic: Zeeshan A Mirza)

A gecko found in Visakhapatnam in 2017, then thought to belong to a known species, has now been identified as a member of a new species. The species, Eublepharis pictus, also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko, has been described in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.

Researchers Zeeshan A Mirza (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru) and C Gnaneswar of (Madras Crocodile Bank Trust) had initially identified the specimen, which they had found dead in a water tank, as an East Indian Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis hardwickii). Now, a phylogenetic study and morphological comparisons have distinguished it as a new species, which appears to be common in the forests of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The gecko genus Eublepharis now has 7 species. Before Eublepharis pictus, Mirza had also previously described Eublepharis satpuraensis. “The new species differs from all members of the genus Eublepharis except for E hardwickii… Geographically the two species appear to be separated by the Brahmani River,” Mirza and Gnaneswar wrote in their paper.

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E hardwickii has been recorded from several places in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. While noting that the new species is distributed across Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the researchers wrote. “We here refrain from providing accurate locations of the species to ensure protection from illegal collection for the pet trade.”

The species occurs outside protected areas. The authors pointed out that most leopard geckos are killed when encountered, and called for raising awareness about the fact that the species is actually harmless. “Based on IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) conservation prioritization criteria we propose to list E pictus… and E hardwickii as Near Threatened (NT) pending further information on local population estimates, especially in protected areas,” the researchers wrote.

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