The Cophotis population of the Knuckles forest range has been separated from all the other known localities of C. ceylanica as this forest range occurs as an isolated mountain massif from the central hills of Sri Lanka.
Cophotis dumbara is well distinguished from C. ceylanica by smaller scales of gular regions.
Cophotis dumbara is restricted to cardamom cultivations in the Knuckles forest range whereas C. ceylanica is recorded from large area in the central hills of Sri Lanka including Nuwara Eliya, Hakgala, Horton Plains, Peak Wilderness range and Piduruthalagala.
In the Indian Cophotis ceylanica, the female has a dorsal crest, though much less developed than in the male; and so it is, as Dr. Gunther informs me, with the females of many Iguanas, Chameleons, and other lizards.
All the foregoing statements and quotations, in regard to Cophotis, Sitana and Draco, as well as the following facts in regard to Ceratophora and Chamaeleon, are from Dr. Gunther himself, or from his magnificent work on the 'Reptiles of British India,' Ray Soc., 1864, pp.
This, for instance, is the case with the above Cophotis and with the Acanthodactylus capensis of S. Africa.
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In the Indian Cophotis ceylanica, the female has a dorsal crest, though much less developed than in the male; and so it is, as Dr. Gunther informs me, with the females of many Iguanas, Chameleons, and other lizards.
All the foregoing statements and quotations, in regard to Cophotis, Sitana and Draco, as well as the following facts in regard to Ceratophora and Chamaeleon, are from Dr. Gunther himself, or from his magnificent work on the 'Reptiles of British India,' Ray Soc., 1864, pp.
A Chinese species is said to live in pairs during the spring; "and if one is caught, the other falls from the tree to the ground, and allows itself to be captured with impunity"--I presume from despair.
This is the second species to be discovered of the Cophotis group after nearly 150 years.
Cophotis ceylanica (Pygmy Lizard) or Kuru Bodhiya, in Sinhala, was discovered by Peters way back in 1861.
Kelum, Anslem and Thasun described a second species, Cophotis dumbaraensis, from an elevation of above 1,400 metres in the Dumbara (Knuckles) Hills, to the north of the central mountains, and separated from them by the Mahaweli River valley (above 500 metres elevation).
Based on the number of endemics in each group, Family Uropeltidae, Typhlophidae and the genus Aspidura of Colubridae are considered to be early arrivals in the country while species such as Argyrogena fasciolata, Gerardia prevostinia etc. are considered late arrivals, as they are only known from very few specimens.
Some snake genera such as Cylindrophis, Dendrelaphis, Chrysopelea, Dryocalamus, Atretium, Boiga, Ahaetula and the agamid genus Cophotis are considered to have distinct Malayan affinities.
Similarly the sea snakes of the Family Hydrophiidae are assumed to be derived from an Autralasian elapid radiation and to have traveled along the coasts of Thailand and Burma.
Increasing temperatures and decreasing annual rainfall is a trend seen in Sri Lanka in the recent past (Fernando and Chandrapala, 1991).This may have adverse effects on reptiles that require moist cool habitats (discussed above).
In the first quarter of 1992 a catastrophic mortality of Cophotis ceylanica was observed around Hakgala (1,500 m) and Nuwara Eliya (1,800 m) where hundreds of dead specimens were found within a few days (de Silva, 1996, Palihawadana, 1998).
Although post mortem and other pathological examinations were not conducted to ascertain the cause of death, an extended drought with high temperatures reported during this period is believed to have been a major contributory factor (de Silva, 1996).
They are among the slowest moving reptiles in the country and can be easily identified by the irregular shaped body scales and curled prehensile tail.
ceylanica is recorded from large area in the central hills of Sri Lanka including Nuwara Eliya, Hakgala, Horton Plains, Peak Wilderness range and Piduruthalagala whereas the recently described Cophotis dumbara is restricted to cardamom cultivations in the Knuckles forest range.
The fan-throat Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) in Sri Lanka is restricted to warm lowland scrublands, particularly the drier coastal areas.
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A lizard similar to the above species is the Fan-throat Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana)- a non- endemic, extremely fast moving lizard found in the sand dunes in the dry and arid zones, which are sparsely studded with scrub.
An endemic lizard with a prehensile tail that inhabits the moss covered trees of our cloud forests, is the Pigmy Lizard (Cophotis ceylanica).
This species is under constant threat as it is sensitive to climatic changes.
This is a relict agamid found ONLY in the Knuckles Range.
The project will study the status and ecological aspects of other agamids such as the Sri Lankan Pygmy Lizard (Cophotis ceylanica) and the Crestless lizard (Calotes liocephalus)
The project will study the status and ecological aspects of the relict monotypic species the Four-Toed Snake Skink (Chalcidoseps thwaitesii).
