Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Golden Gecko spotted in Vizag district

Rare species: The endangered Golden Gecko that was spotted at Lambasinge near Chintapalli in Visakhapatnam.

VISAKHAPATNAM: In a rare occurrence, the highly endangered Golden Gecko was spotted by a team of environmentalists in Lambasinge near Chintapalli in Visakhapatnam district recently. The team led by M. Ramamurthy, founder of Dolphin Nature Conservation Society, and G. Pridhviraj, research fellow in the Wild Life Institute of India, Dehradun, spotted the primitive lizard, protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, during a nature study tour in the Eastern Ghats.

Similar specimens were also spotted in R.V. Nagar (near Gudem) and Galikonda (near Araku). “This is a significant finding as it was considered endemic to the Seshachalam hill ranges in the south. The report is under review,” Prof. Murthy said.

The species is one of the two of the genus Calodactylodes - which are considered Gondwanan relics, a reason behind the special interest of herpetologists in the species. This Gecko is endemic to the Eastern Ghats and is distributed in three Indian States – Tamil Nadu (Arcot and Vellore), Andhra Pradesh (Seshachalam and Velikonda ranges – Chittoor; Perantalapally of Papikonda Hills in Khammam as reported by W.W.F. India) and in Orissa (Nimyamgiri Hills).

The generic name of the species Calodactylodes is due to its ‘beautiful fingers.’ Altitudinal distribution of the species is around 1,000 metres and its habitat is riverine forests, moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests.

The species is greyish brown in colour with fuzzy white spots (but turns golden yellow with age, which is well noticed in adult males) and undersides with golden yellow. “Due to habitat loss, there was a shifting trend in the habitat of these rare Geckos. They face a survival threat due to the inundation of the Perantalapally Reserve Forest because of construction of the Polavaram dam and mining and other developmental activities in Visakhapatnam district.

“The Chintapalli and Araku area is also home for very rare and endemic species like the Rhacophoridae frog ‘Philautus terebrans’ and a limbless lizard ‘Sepsophis punctatus’ the occurrence of which has not been reported for the last 130 years,” Prof. Murthy said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A glimpse into art and architecture of Orissa
Golden Gecko spotted in Vizag district
Proposed anicuts to stabilise irrigation in over 20,000 acres
New thrust for coastal shipping needed: NSB
It’s celebration time for NCC cadets
‘Sound of Music’ enthrals them
Researcher from Sweden visits AU
Activists of Left parties arrested
Free eye camp
Two youths arrested on charge of indecent behaviour
Seminar on role of employees held
‘Maritime Board for State necessary’
‘I am always a Congress man’
Visakhapatnam Today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu