The Holotype: Hemidactylus sataraensis sp. nov.
— showing the bold and highly contrasting life colours of this species.
Hemidactylus sataraensis Giri, & Bauer, 2008
Abstract
A distinctive new species of ground-dwelling gecko of the genus Hemidactylus is described from the plateaus of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. It is a member of a group of chiefly terrestrial Indian Hemidactylus species that have undivided, or only partly divided subdigital lamellae. The new species is most similar in appearance to the lowland inhabiting Hemidactylus albofasciatus Grandison & Soman, 1963, but can be distinguished by its larger size and a suite of distinctive scalation and coloration characters. A key to the species of Hemidactylus currently known from the Republic of India is provided.
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| FIGURE 8. Life photograph of holotype of H. sataraensis sp. nov. showing the bold and highly contrasting life colours of this species. |
FIGURE 9. Life photograph of paratype of H. sataraensis sp. nov. illustrating an equally complex but less contrasting general coloration pattern than the holotype
Giri, V.B., & Bauer, A.M. 2008. A New Ground-dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Maharashtra, with A Key to the Hemidactylus of India. Zootaxa. 1700: 21–34.
Photo: Hemidactylus sataraensis -- http://varadgiri.com/
