Research paper by team that included Tejas Thackeray recently published in international scientific journal
The three gecko species discovered. PIC/Thackeray Wildlife Foundation
A team of wildlife researchers including Tejas Thackeray—son of former chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray—has discovered three new species of bent-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus) from Nepal. The research paper regarding the same was recently published in the international scientific journal Zootaxa. The paper has been authored by Santosh Bhattarai, Bivek Gautam, Bishal Prasad Neupane, Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray, Ishan Agarwal, Frank Tillack, Ashley R Olson, Fiona Hogan and Wendy Weight.
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Ishan Agarwal, a scientist with Thackeray Wildlife Foundation (TWF), said, “These discoveries are a result of fieldwork in Nepal by our Nepali colleagues. Cyrtodactylus (bent-toed geckos) are the most diverse gecko genus and the second-most diverse vertebrate genus. The group is distributed from the Himalayas through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea (PNG) and northern Australia. Only three species were known from Nepal and so we expected that this was due to poor sampling and that the region would harbour numerous bent-toed geckos.”
As per the abstract of the research paper published in Zootaxa, “We conducted a review of the known species of Cyrtodactylus from Nepal based on type and topotypical material, resulting in the synonymization of one species and description of three additional species from central Nepal. The five species of Cyrtodactylus from Nepal are members of the Indo-Burma clade and are at least 11.7 per cent divergent from known congeners based on the mitochondrial ND2 gene. The results show that C. nepalensis and one of the new species are allied to the C. fasciolatus group while the other two new species and C. martinstolli are members of the mountain subclade within the khasiensis group. The new species can be readily distinguished from congeners in the Himalayas by a combination of body size, meristic characteristics including the number of dorsal tubercle rows and mid-ventral scales across the belly, the number and arrangement of pores in males and females, and subcaudal condition.”
According to an Instagram post by TWF, this is their first international discovery wherein three new species of bent-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus) were discovered in Nepal. “This remarkable find comes from a collaborative effort between scientists from Nepal, Australia, Germany and India, led by Santosh Bhattarai (Federation University, Australia). Meet the newest additions to science: Cyrtodactylus chitwanensis… a nod to the biodiversity haven of Chitwan National Park Cyrtodactylus annapurnaensis named after the stunning Annapurna Range. Cyrtodactylus karanshahi honoring Karan Shah, one of Nepal's foremost herpetologists. A huge congratulations to the entire team behind this discovery! What a way to mark World Wildlife Day… here's to many more discoveries this year.”
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