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| Coryphophylax maximiliani Fitzinger in Steindachner, 1867 in Mirza, Pal, Thackeray, Patel et Bauer. 2025. |
Abstract
The insular agamid genus Coryphophylax Fitzinger in Steindachner, 1867, is endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, India. These diurnal lizards are currently represented by two putative species, Coryphophylax subcristatus (Blyth, “1860” 1861) and Coryphophylax brevicauda Harikrishnan, Vasudevan, Chandramouli, Choudhury, Dutta & Das, 2012. The species C. subcristatus is said to be distributed through the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, even across the Ten Degree Channel, which is a recognised biogeographic barrier. A reassessment of the taxonomy of C. subcristatus shows the population south of the Ten Degree Channel, for which the nomen Coryphophylax maximiliani Fitzinger in Steindachner, 1867 is available, to be distinct. The results are based on morphological data from museum material, including type specimens and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences. The members of the genus Coryphophylax are abundant and widespread across the islands and may serve as an illuminating example for studying the patterns of colonization and diversification across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Coryphophylax maximiliani Fitzinger in Steindachner, 1867
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| Coryphophylax maximiliani from Nicobar Islands showing colouration in life. Photos by S. Harikrishnan. |
Zeeshan A. Mirza, Saunak Pal, Tejas Thackeray, Harshil Patel and Aaron M. Bauer. 2025. Taxonomic Status of Coryphophylax maximiliani Fitzinger in: Steindachner, 1867 with Notes on Coryphophylax subcristatus (Blyth, “1860” 1861) PeerJ. 13:e19841. DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19841 [September 19, 2025]
