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| Cyrtodactylus chamba
Agarwal, Khandekar & Bauer, 2018
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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.
Keywords: Reptilia, Alpha taxonomy, Cyrtodactylus lawderanus, Himalayas, lizard, ND2, Siwaligekko, systematics, taxonomy
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| FIGURE 8. Type series of Cyrtodactylus chamba sp. nov. in life, BNHS 2330 (top left), BNHS 2331 (top right), BNHS 2333 (bottom left), BNHS 2334 (bottom right). |
Cyrtodactylus chamba sp. nov.
Cyrtodactylus sp. Chamba (Agarwal et al. 2014a)
Etymology. The specific epithet is the name of the type locality of the species and is used as a noun in apposition. Cyrtodactylus chamba sp. nov. is only known from around Chamba, in the Chamba Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Suggested common name. Chamba bent-toed gecko
Ishan Agarwal, Akshay Khandekar and Aaron M. Bauer. 2018. A New Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from the Western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh, India. Zootaxa. 4446(4); 442–454. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4446.4.2
Agarwal, I., Bauer, A.M., Jackman, T.R. & Karanth, K.P. 2014. Insights into Himalayan Biogeography from Geckos: A
Molecular Phylogeny of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 80, 145–155. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.07.018
