national The important characteristics of both the geckos are that they are diurnal and are endemic to the locations they are found and both these geckos can grow up to 35 mm Ishan Agarwal, one of the researchers besides Tejas Thackeray and Akshay Khandekar In a yet another achievement in the field of wildlife research that also highlights the fact that the ecologically rich Sahyadris have to be protected, Tejas Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray along with two other researchers, identified as Akshay Khandekar and Ishan Aggarwal have discovered two new species of geckos from Koyna region and Ambaghat region near Kolhapur. The discovery about the two species of geckos was published in a renowned international journal Zootaxa and the researchers included Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray and Ishan Agarwal. Tejas Thackeray While speaking to Tejas Thackeray said, "I am delighted to share that our team has discovered two new Cnemaspis (Dwarf geckos) from the Sahyadris of Maharashtra. Cnemaspis Amba and Cnemaspis Koynaensis. Both the species have been named after their type and localities to throw light on this amazingly diverse yet fragile ecosystem. Amba Ghat in Kolhapur and Koyna in Satara which collectively form the Sahyadri tiger reserve in the Northern Western Ghats or the Sahyadris, an escarpment covered with montane rainforests with isolated laterite plateaus and peaks. The species here are cryptic and have recently diverged only after the Deccan trap volcanism ended around 63 million ago." Cnemaspis amba has been named after their type and localities Also Read: Shiv Sena chiefs younger son discovers new species of crabs in Western Ghats The team of researchers had done a field visit to the area during the last monsoon and it was during this time they found the two new species of geckos. The important characteristics of both the geckos are that they are diurnal (active during the day) and are endemic to the locations they are found and both these geckos can grow up to 35 mm. Akshay Khandekar Talking to mid-day Akshay Khandekar said, "We are very happy about the two discoveries and this was possible only because of the hard work taken by the team including Tejas, Ishan and Swapnil Pawar who helped us during the field visit. The areas in western ghats Sahyadris including Koyna and Amba Ghat is very rich in biodiversity and the discovery also highlights the fact that why it is very crucial to protect this biodiversity-rich area." Cnemaspis Koynaensis, one of the geckos discovered by the research team It may be noted that in the past Tejas Thackeray along with other researcher had also discovered two new species of freshwater crab from Koyna area. Also Read: Now, Tejas Thackeray discovers a new gecko Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

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