White-striped viper gecko explained

The white-striped viper gecko (Hemidactylus albofasciatus) is a species of gecko endemic to India. The species, mostly found under the loose rocks on rock outcrops of the Konkan region is known to be threatened by the land-use changes.^{[1] [2]} This is an uncommon, slender gecko found only in the lateritic plateaus of Maharashtra.^[3] This patchily distributed ground-dwelling species hides generally under the rocks during the daytime^{[4] [5]}

Distribution

The species is currently known from few localities in the Maharashtra state. The type locality is Dorle Village in Rajapur Taluka, Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. Its distribution is poorly known, and it could be more widely spread.

Notes and References

1. News: 2023-07-28 . Land-use changes put rocky addresses of animals under stress in Maharashtra's Sahyadri plateau . en-IN . The Hindu . 2023-08-02 . 0971-751X.
2. Jithin . Vijayan . Rane . Manali . Watve . Aparna . Giri . Varad B. . Naniwadekar . Rohit . 2023-10-01 . Between a rock and a hard place: Comparing rock-dwelling animal prevalence across abandoned paddy, orchards, and rock outcrops in a biodiversity hotspot . Global Ecology and Conservation . en . 46 . e02582 . 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02582 . 2351-9894. free . 2023GEcoC..4602582J .
3. Grandison . A. G. C. . Soman . P.W. . 1963 . Description of a new geckonid lizard from Maharashtra, India . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society . 60 . 2 . 322–325.
4. Gaikwad . K.S. . Kulkarni . H. . Bhambure . R. . Giri . V.B. . 2009 . Notes on the distribution, natural history and variation of Hemidactylus albofasciatus (Grandison and Soman, 1963)(Squamata: Gekkonidae) . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society . 106 . 3 . 305.
5. Mirza . Z. . Sanap . R. . 2012 . Notes on the natural history of Hemidactylus albofasciatus Grandison and Soman, 1963 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) . Hamadryad . 36 . 1 . 56–58.