Friday, December 9, 2022

[Herpetology • 2022] Cnemaspis agayagangai, C. fantastica, C. rudhira, etc. • A Multitude of Spots! Five new microendemic species of the Cnemaspis gracilis Group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from massifs in the Shevaroy landscape, Tamil Nadu, India


 Cnemaspis salimalii
Cnemaspis rudhira
Cnemaspis agayagangai 
 Cnemaspis fantastica
 Cnemaspis pachaimalaiensis 

Agarwal, Thackeray & Khandekar, 2022

Abstract
South Asian Cnemaspis are one of the most diverse clades of gekkonids in South Asia with their highest diversity in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. These geckos include only a few nocturnal species and are largely diurnal or cathemeral and restricted to relatively cool habitats. One of the prominently diurnal subgroups in South Asian Cnemaspis is the bangara clade, which includes six species distributed in southern India on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, the southern Eastern Ghats and Palghat Gap. In this paper, we describe five more species of the bangara clade from the Shevaroyan landscape, including three from Kollimalai and one each from Yercaud and Pachaimalai, all in Tamil Nadu. These new species show 4.6–19.7 % uncorrected sequence divergence on the mitochondrial ND2 gene from each other and known species of the bangara clade and are morphologically diagnosable in body size, the number of paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions, the number of dorsal tubercle rows, the number of ventral scale rows across the belly, the number of femoral and precloacal pores and poreless scales separating these series, and aspects of colouration. The discovery of these five new species adds to the growing discoveries of cool-adapted species in southern India outside the Western Ghats and highlights the role of sky-islands in diversification. The Shevaroyan landscape shows high levels of microendemism with eight species distributed in an area of < 2000 km2, and all these species restricted to much smaller areas of actual distribution. With an area of < 500 km2 respectively, the massif of Pachaimalai has a single endemic and the massifs of Yercaud and Kollimalai have three endemic Cnemaspis species each.

Keywords: Endemic species, integrative taxonomy, microendemism, mountains, southern India, species radiation, taxonomy


 


Maximum likelihood tree of the bangara clade of South Asian Cnemaspis based on a partial fragment of ND2 with photographs of the species in life (not to scale) and sketches showing dorsal colour pattern of head and forebody (not to scale); note that C. salimalii sp. nov. and C. thackerayi have the same pattern. Bootstrap support and Posterior Probability (only values ≥ 65 % and 0.99 shown) depicted at nodes, outgroups not shown.

Colouration in life:
A Cnemaspis salimalii sp. nov., adult male (holotype, NRC-AA-1204); B Cnemaspis agayagangai sp. nov., adult male (holotype, NRC-AA-1213); 
C Cnemaspis fantastica sp. nov., adult male (holotype, NRC-AA-1222); D Cnemaspis pachaimalaiensis sp. nov., adult male (holotype, NRC-AA-1230).
Photos by Tejas Thackeray.

Cnemaspis salimalii sp. nov.

Etymology: The specific epithet is a patronym honouring the eminent ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali (1896–1987) for his immense contributions to field research and conservation in India.

Suggested Common Name: Salim Ali’s dwarf gecko.


Cnemaspis agayagangai sp. nov.

Etymology: The specific epithet is for the type locality of the new species, the Agaya Gangai Waterfalls, and is used as a noun in apposition.

Suggested Common Name: Agaya Gangai dwarf gecko.


Cnemaspis fantastica sp. nov.

Etymology: The specific epithet is derived from the Greek phantastikós, alluding to the spectacular colouration of the new species.

Suggested Common Name: Fantastic dwarf gecko.


Cnemaspis pachaimalaiensis sp. nov.

Etymology: The specific epithet is a toponym for the Pachaimalai hills in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu, the type and currently only known locality for this species.

Suggested Common Name: Pachaimalai dwarf gecko.


A Colouration in life of Cnemaspis rudhira sp. nov. showing sexual dichromatism: top adult female (paratype, NRC-AA-1247), bottom adult male (holotype, NRC-AA-1238), photo by Tejas Thackeray;
B Habitat at the type locality of Cnemaspis rudhira sp. nov. showing general habitat, rocky outcrop in evergreen forest. Photo by Akshay Khandekar.


Cnemaspis rudhira sp. nov.

Etymology: The specific epithet is from the Sanskrit rudhira which means blood, alluding to the blood-red colouration of this beautiful species, and is used as a noun in apposition.

Suggested Common Name: Scarlet dwarf gecko.


Ishan Agarwal, Tejas Thackeray and Akshay Khandekar. 2022. A Multitude of spots! Five new microendemic species of the Cnemaspis gracilis group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from massifs in the Shevaroy landscape, Tamil Nadu, India. Vertebrate Zoology. 72: 1137-1186. DOI: 10.3897/vz.72.e94799 


South Asian Cnemaspis has already become the most diverse vertebrate genus in India with more than 70 described species from the country. Yet again, we describe five more stunning new species (of the Cnemaspis gracilis complex) from multiple massifs in the Shevaroyan landscape, Tamil Nadu. All five are endemic to their respective type localities.
1) Cnemaspis salimalii sp. nov. (Salim Ali’s dwarf gecko): described from high elevation forests of Kolli hills in Namakkal district. As the name suggests, we named the new species after eminent ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali for his immense contributions to field research and conservation in India.
2) Cnemaspis rudhira sp. nov. (Scarlet dwarf gecko): described from Yercaud in Salem district. The species name rudhira is a Sanskrit word which means blood, alluding to the blood-red colouration of this beautiful species.
3) Cnemaspis agayagangai sp. nov. (Agayagangai dwarf gecko): described from mid-elevation forests on the eastern slope of Kolli hills in Namakkal district. Named after its type locality, the Agaya Gangai Waterfalls.
4) Cnemaspis fantastica sp. nov. (Fantastic dwarf gecko): described from mid-elevation forests on the western slope of Kolli hills. The species name is derived from the Greek phantastikós, alluding to the spectacular colouration of the new species.
5) Cnemaspis pachaimalaiensis sp. nov. (Pachaimalai dwarf gecko): described from the Pachaimalai hills in Trichy district and named after its type locality. The new species is the first known endemic vertebrate from Pachaimalai hill.