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| Cyrtodactylus kamengensis Mirza, Bhosale, Thackeray, Phansalkar, Sawant, Gowande & Patel, 2022 |
Abstract
A new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus is described from western Arunachal Pradesh. The new species is a member of the Indo-Burma clade and is embedded within the “peguensis” group, a relationship deduced contingent on a partial fragment of mitochondrial NADH subunit 2 gene. Cyrtodactylus kamengensis sp. nov. is morphologically similar to C. himalayicus from which it differs in bearing a distinct ventrolateral fold and 6–8 basal lamellae on digit IV of pes. Genetically, the new species is sister to the Indian lineage of the “peguensis” group containing C. bhupathyi and C. gubernatoris. The Indian lineage of the “peguensis” group diverged from its Burmese relatives during the mid-Oligocene likely followed by the beginning of the Himalayan uplift, highlighting the role of the Himalayas in the diversification of biota.
Key Words: biodiversity hotspot, Gekkonidae, Himalayas, northeast India, taxonomy
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| Cyrtodactylus kamengensis sp. nov. male holotype BNHS 3113 in life. Photo Mandar Sawant. |
Cyrtodactylus kamengensis sp. nov.
Cyrtodactylus khasiensis Agarwal et al. 2010: 89
Cyrtodactylus sp. Agarwal et al. (2014):147
Cyrtodactylus “KM255196” Mirza et al. (2021):21
Diagnosis: Cyrtodactylus kamengensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners by its moderate body size (SVL 70.2–78.6 mm, mean 73.84); 9–12 supralabials; 9–10 infralabials; 20–24 bluntly conical, feebly keeled dorsal tubercles; 49–58 paravertebral tubercles; 30–34 ventral scales between distinct ventrolateral folds; no precloacal groves; 7–11 precloacal pores in a continuous series; three to four rows of enlarged scales below pored scales, slightly larger than pored scales, femoral pores absent; 9–13 distal subdigital lamellae on digit IV of pes; subcaudal scalation of original tail without enlarged plates. Dorsum with paired irregular dark brown blotches on a light brown background.
Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the Kameng River in western Arunachal Pradesh close to which the new species was discovered.
Zeeshan A. Mirza, Harshal S. Bhosale, Tejas Thackeray, Pushlar Phansalkar, Mandar Sawant, Gaurang G. Gowande and Harshil Patel. 2022. A New Species of Bent-toed Geckos of the Genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from western Arunachal Pradesh, India. Herpetozoa. 35: 65-76. DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.35.e80610
