A group of Indian researches described a new species of small-sized (SVL 24.6–28.8 mm) rupicolous Cnemaspis from the Biligirirangan Hills (BR Hills), Karnataka based on morphology and molecular (mitochondrial 16S and ND2) data. The new species is nested within the monticola, mysoriensis and gracilis clades, where it is basal to monticola and gracilis clades in the Maximum Likelihood analysis and is basal to the monticola clade in the Bayesian phylogenetic analysis.
The specific epithet is a patronym honouring Dr R. Uma Shaanker, Retired Professor of Plant Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and Founder of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore.
If you are interested to read more on this research, you can find the full research article in here
Cover Photo – Narayanan & NA, 2022
