Maharashtra: 2 new gecko species discovered, one named after Van Gogh

The recently discovered gecko species

You must have heard about the famous Starry Night painting by famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. Maharashtra-based researchers have discovered two new species of gecko and one of which is named after the expressionist painter due to its striking resemblance to the aforementioned painting. The research paper by Wildlife Researcher Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray and Ishan Agarwal was published on Wednesday night in ZooKeys Journal.

Scientist Akshay Khandekar from the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation, who is the lead researcher of the paper said, "Our team has discovered two more new stunning dwarf geckos from Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR), Tamil Nadu. One is named after Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Cnemaspis vangoghi aka Van Gogh's starry dwarf gecko as the colouration of the new species is reminiscent of one of the painter's most iconic works, The Starry Night."

Khandekar told mid-day that the other species is named after Sathuragiri mountain, the type and only known locality of the new species, Cnemaspis sathuragiriensis aka Sathuragiri dwarf gecko. "We also provide a brief note on the Code of Ethics and how it is rarely followed in the Indian context and call for more collaborative research," added Khandekar.

According to the research paper, the two new species are distributed from low elevation, deciduous forests of Srivilliputhur, and add to the five previously known endemic vertebrates from Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve.