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| (A, B) Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov.; (D, E, G, H) Cyrtodactylus siahaensis sp. nov. Purkayastha, Lalremsanga, Litho, Rathee, Bohra, Mathipi, Biakzuala & Muansanga, 2022 |
ABSTRACT
We describe two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827, each from the Indian states of Meghalaya and Mizoram based on morphology and ND2 gene sequences. The new species are a part of the Cyrtodactylus khasiensis group. Both species represent the highland clade within the south of Brahmaputra clade of Indo-Burmese Cyrtodactylus. Based on ND2 gene sequence, the species from Meghalaya have an uncorrected p-distance of 4.21%–4.25% from a lowland species C. guwahatiensis Agarwal, Mahony, Giri, Chaitanya & Bauer, 2018 and is a sister taxon to C. septentrionalis Agarwal, Mahony, Giri, Chaitanya & Bauer, 2018. The species from Mizoram differ from its sister species C. bengkhuaiai Purkayastha, Lalremsanga, Bohra, Biakzuala, Decemson, Muansanga, Vabeiryureilai, Chauhan & Rathee, 2021 by a p-distance of 8.33%.
Keywords: Biodiversity, Indo-Burma Hotspot, bent-toed gecko, ND2, systematics
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| Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. in life (A. MZMU2542. B. MZMU2543. C. MZMU2545); Cyrtodactylus siahaensis sp. nov. in life (D. MZMU2443. E. MZMU2444. F. MZMU2445. G. MZMU2446. H. MZMU2449. I. uncollected). |
Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. is a moderate-sized gecko (adult SVL 48.2–68.0 mm); 9–11 supralabials; 9–10 infralabials; dorsal tubercles are rounded, bluntly conical and feebly keeled in 21–24 longitudinal rows; 32–34 paravertebral tubercles between the level of the axilla and the level of the groin; 35–37 mid-ventral scale rows; 11–15 precloacal pores in males; 16–17 subdigital lamellae under IV toe; no single row of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; dorsal markings are dark brown, irregular blotches with a distinctive white posterior border; tail with alternating dark and light bands.
Etymology: The specific epithet ‘exercitus’ is used as a noun in apposition in honour of the Indian army.
Suggested common name: Indian army’s bent-toed gecko.
Cyrtodactylus siahaensis sp. nov.
Etymology: The origin of specific epithet ‘siahaensis’ is derived from the name of the town, Siaha (a district capital of Siaha District) from where the type series was collected.
Suggested common name: Siaha bent-toed gecko.
Suggested local name: Khotlia (Mara ethnic language, which means bent-toed geckos).
Jayaditya Purkayastha, Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga, Beirathie Litho, Yashpal Singh Rathee, Sanath Chandra Bohra, Vabeiryureilai Mathipi, Lal Biakzuala and Lal Muansanga. 2022. Two New Cyrtodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Northeast India. European Journal of Taxonomy. 794(1); 111-139. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.794.1659 [2022-02-18]
