When I spotted this wary, agile gecko lurking in the shadow of a large boulder, I was excited because I recognized it as Cnemaspis and it was the first Cnemaspis I had ever seen. Soon I discovered that it was one of the most common lizards in the area, but this was the only one I saw active during the day.

My Travelogues and Trip Lists page includes a complete list of the herps I saw in the wild on this trip to Malaysia, as well as a travelogue of the trip.

In the forests of Sarawak at night, I saw dozens of these geckos, either clinging to boulders or the buttresses or trunks of large trees.

Most of them would scuttle off into a crevice quickly, but every once in a while one would hold its position long enough for me to get a close-up.

They exhibited significant variation in pattern and color. Perhaps these will turn out to be different species some day.

Gunung Gading has its very own species of Cnemaspis, C. nigridia. Unfortunately, the only ones I saw there were the widespread and common C. kendallii.