This tiny lizard found in Tamil Nadu is named after Vincent Van Gogh

Cnemaspis vangoghi

We're in the middle of the sixth mass extinction of species - alas not human - and so it becomes even more crucial to identify what we have before it goes away.
The Thackeray Wildlife Foundation comprising Akshay Khandekar, evolutionary biologist Dr Ishan Agarwal, Tejas Thackeray, Swapnil Pawar, Vivek Waghe, and Satpal Gangalmale named the formally recognised two new species of geckos on the southern end of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu last week. The foundation is a non-profit organisation, linked to the Thackerays of Sena (UBT).

These geckos were found in Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve two years ago, and the serendipitously, their formal recognition and naming as a newly-discovered species coincided with impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh's March 30 birthday. The male specimen of the now formally called Cnemaspis vangoghi has light blue stripes that swirl through the darker areas of the body, much like the Dutch artist's famous painting, The Starry Night. The female is boring brown, with earth coloured spots and patterns, giving credit to the theory that Mother Nature is gay man.

Tejas, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's second son, named his little paal, Agarwal told us. Agarwal has named 86 new species of lizards and amphibians, including 78 from India since 2011. He also has two geckos, a skink and a scorpion named after him.

The field team that discovered the Cnemaspis vangoghi: Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray, Swapnil Pawar, Ishan Agarwal, Satpal Gangalmale, and Vivek Waghe

Another species, the Cnemaspis sathuragiriensi named for the forest it was found in, was also formalised on the same day, but who pays attention to the person who debuts with the Ranveer Singh of tiny lizards?

The Gogh gecko grows to the size of 1.4 inches and feasts on other invertebrates, and food for larger reptiles, snakes, mammals and birds. It is most active in the cooler times of the early day, and after sunset. So far, nothing else is known about their ecology, mating habits or lifespan.

The researchers went looking for them among boulders and crevices, tree trunks, and man-made structures from early morning until a few hours after dark from 2018 to 2022. The team is interested in the lesser known fauna of India, understanding the basic patterns of biodiversity, and having discovered and formally named 32 new lizards from Tamil Nadu, with seven more in review.

"Our project on the lesser known fauna of peninsular India continues," says Agarwal over email, "and we hope to work on the material from Tamil Nadu as well as samples across other parts of peninsular India over the next few years. Our work will change the way we look at many Indian landscapes, revealing them to be incredibly biodiverse habitats with high levels of endemicity [being peculiar to a region]. It is more important than ever before for us to conserve biodiversity as we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, precipitated by human activities. The first basic step is to know the species we have and where they are found."