Spiky ‘dwarf’-like creature found at abandoned building in India. It’s a new species

As the evening sun stretched across a forest in India, a “dwarf”-like creature perched on the wall of an abandoned building. Perhaps the immobile animal was trying to blend in with its surroundings. It didn’t work.

Visiting scientists spotted the spiky animal — and discovered a new species.

Researchers visited the abandoned building in Maharashtra as part of a large-scale wildlife survey, according to a study published March 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. The survey included over 80 sites in the area and lasted from 2016 to 2023.

During a visit to Chandoli National Park, researchers found over a dozen small, spiky geckos that they didn’t recognize, the study said. They looked closer at the animals and realized they’d discovered a new species: Cnemaspis chandoliensis, or the Chandoli dwarf gecko.

Chandoli dwarf geckos are considered “small,” reaching about 2.6 inches in length, the study said. They have “relatively slender” bodies covered in spikes with “long” limbs and “strong” claws.

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Photos show the orange-brown coloring of some Chandoli dwarf geckos. They have “golden-red” eyes and several darker brown “chevrons” down their backs, researchers said.

Yellow spikes dot the gecko’s side, photos show. Its mosaic-like coloring appears to blend in with the surrounding rock.

Chandoli dwarf geckos were found in evergreen forests at an elevation of about 2,600 feet, the study said. During the day, researchers found a “high abundance” of geckos moving around on the tree trunks or lurking under rocks. In the evening, a few geckos were found “inactive” on the walls of an abandoned building.

Researchers said they named the new species after the Chandoli National Park where it was first discovered and, so far, the only area where it has been found.

Chandoli National Park is in Maharashtra and part of a biodiversity hotspot known as the Western Ghats. The park is about 1,000 miles southwest of New Delhi.

The new species was identified by its scale patterns, spikes and coloring, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 7% genetic divergence from other dwarf geckos.

The research team included Akshay Khandekar, Sunil Gaikwad, Tejas Thackeray, Satpal Gangalmale and Ishan Agarwal.

The team also discovered three more new species: the Barki dwarf gecko, the Maharashtra dwarf gecko and the Sahyadri dwarf gecko.

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