Cnemaspis otai, also known commonly as Ota's day gecko, Ota's rock gecko, and the Vellore day gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southeastern India.
Etymology The specific name, otai, is in honor of Japanese herpetologist Hidetoshi Ota (born 1959).Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Cnemaspis otai, p. 197).
Geographic distribution Cnemaspis otai is found in the southern Eastern Ghats in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The type locality is "Vellore Fort, Vellore, North Arcot District, Tamil Nadu, India".
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Cnemaspis otai is forest at altitudes of .
Description Cnemaspis otai may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Dorsally, it is grayish brown with black spots. Ventrally, it is yellowish cream.Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (Cnemaspis otai, p. 88).
Behavior Cnemaspis otai is diurnal and rock-dwelling.
Reproduction Cnemaspis otai is oviparous.
References
Further reading
Das I, Bauer AM (2000). "Two New Species of Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekonidae) from Tamil Nadu, Southern India". Russian Journal of Herpetology 7 (1): 17–28. (Cnemaspis otai, new species). Ganesh SR, Kalaimani A, Karthik P, Baskaran N, Nagarajan R, Chandramouli SR (2018). "Herpetofauna of Southern Eastern Ghats, India – II From Western Ghats to Coromandel Coast". Asian Journal of Conservation Biology 7 (1): 28–45.