The forest spotted gecko or Erode ground gecko (Cyrtodactylus speciosus) is a species of gecko that is endemic to hills of South India, in parts of Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats. It was first described from hills near Erode in Tamil Nadu in 1870. Subsequently, this species was thought to be similar to Cyrtodactylus collegalensis, but recent studies have confirmed that they are distinct.Agarwal, I. S. H. A. N., Mirza, Z. A., Pal, S., Maddock, S. T., Mishra, A. N. U. R. A. G., & Bauer, A. M. (2016). A new species of the Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) collegalensis (Beddome, 1870) complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Western India. Zootaxa, 4170(2), 339-354.Agarwal, I., & Karanth, K. P. (2015). A phylogeny of the only ground-dwelling radiation of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae): diversification of Geckoella across peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 82, 193-199. This species has been sighted in hills around Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode, in parts of the Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu.Ganesh, S. R., & Arumugam, M. (2016). Species richness of montane herpetofauna of southern Eastern Ghats, India: a historical resume and a descriptive checklist. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 23(1)49-63.
Habits and habitat This species is nocturnal, where it begins its activity after dusk. It is insectivorous. This species reproduces by laying eggs. It is a terrestrial lizard that lives on the ground among thick leaf litter, pebbles and debris on the forest floor.
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