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Type: Article
Published: 2018-07-19
Page range: 442–454
Abstract views: 88
PDF downloaded: 3

A new bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from the Western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh, India

Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065, India
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065, India
Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
Reptilia Alpha taxonomy Cyrtodactylus lawderanus Himalayas lizard ND2 Siwaligekko systematics taxonomy

Abstract

We describe a new species of the gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus based on a series of six specimens from the Chamba Valley in the Western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh state, India. Cyrtodactylus chamba sp. nov. is a member of the subgenus Siwaligekko and can be diagnosed from congeners in the Western Himalayas by a combination of its small size (snout to vent length up to 63 mm), a continuous series of five precloacal pores on males, 13–15 rows of dorsal tubercles, 33–43 scales across the belly, no regular series of enlarged subcaudals, and a dorsal colour pattern of 5–7 irregular, broad, dark bands with much narrower, light interspaces. The new species is 14% divergent in ND2 sequence from the most similar sampled congener, Cyrtodactylus (Siwaligekko) himalayanus from Jammu and Kashmir, and is 0.5–1.1% divergent in nuclear sequence data from sampled Siwaligekko species. Many more undiscovered Cyrtodactylus species probably exist across the Himalayas at elevations below ~2000 m; basic field surveys for reptiles and other poorly known groups and examination of existing material should be a priority if we are to appreciate the true diversity of this spectacular mountainous landscape.

 

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