Hemidactylus lankae

Termite-hill Gecko

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Hemidactylus
Species:	H. lankae
Binomial name
*Hemidactylus lankae* Deraniyagala, 1953

The Termite-hill Gecko, Hemidactylus lankae, also known as Sri Lanka Leaf-toed Gecko, is a species of gecko endemic to island of Sri Lanka.

Habitat & Distribution

A beautiful dark-light banded ground gecko from the dry zone of Sri Lanka, below 300m. Known from localities including Kandalama, Dambulla, Giritale, Bakamuna, Puttalam, Wilpattu National Park, and Menikdena.

Description

Head large. An indistinct lateral skin fold present. Forehead and back covered with large 16-18 rows of convex tubercles. Male are with 13-19 pre-ano-femoral pores. Dorsum yellowish-olive, with three large brwon saddle-like patches, edged with black. Head is with yellow stripes from behind the eye and across nape. Venter unpatterned creamy. Tail dark banded.

Ecology & Diet

Inhabits open forests and shrublands. A nocturnal and terrestrial gecko, it shelters during the day in rock cracks, under bark and in rodent burrows. Diet comprises termites, and also crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, and beetles, and they known to congregate on termitaria with sawrming termite alates.

Reproduction

Clutched comprise 2, and may 6, measuring 10 * 12mm, which laid between May and July. Hatchlings are 22mm long.

References

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