The sighting of a gecko, reportedly not seen hitherto in the hill stations of the Blue Mountains has generated considerable interest among the members of the Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology at the Government Arts College here.
The gecko was spotted atop an apple tree at Coonoor a couple of days ago by G. Mohan, a Research Scholar in the Zoology Department.
Speaking to The Hindu here on Saturday, he said that though it was almost similar to the endemic Hemidactylus anamallensis and the Hemidactylus Frenatus, some of its features like colour and size were strikingly different.
Since its taxonomic status was hard to arrive at it was felt that it was a new entrant to The Nilgiris.
Its feeding pattern indicates that such geckos can play a vital role in controlling insects and pests.
Herpetologist P. Kannan and Associate Professor of Zoology R. Sanil said that normally such geckos are not found in high altitude areas. “The development can even be connected to the consequences of global warming”, they said and added that the geckos are non poisonous.
Stating that the gecko found in Coonoor would be observed minutely, they said that if any one else has any knowledge about it they could get in touch with them.
