Knuckles pygmy lizard (Cophotis dumbara) cloud forest canopy: prehensile tail locomotion?
What specific moss-covered bark micro-habitats and temperature tolerances sustain the endangered Knuckles Pygmy Lizard at elevations above 1,300 meters?
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3 Answers from travellers
Cophotis dumbara is a critically endangered, point-endemic agamid lizard confined strictly to the high-elevation pygmy cloud forests of the Knuckles massif (Riverston and Gombaniya peaks above 1,300m). Adapted to cold, mist-shrouded, windy environments, it possesses a short, blunt snout and a prehensile tail used to clamp onto thin twigs and epiphytic orchids. It is viviparous, giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs in cold mountain soil. They bask sluggishly on moss-covered trunks of Syzygium and Rhododendron trees during fleeting morning sun breaks, active between 15°C and 21°C.
Forest dieback caused by acid mist and clearings for illicit cardamom cultivation on the high ridges has fragmented its restricted habitat into isolated pockets.
Touching or collecting these rare montane reptiles carries strict penalties under Schedule II of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.
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