v12i2.307
Volume 12 | Number 2 | November 2023
Major Article
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v12i2.307
Submitted date: 8 August 2023
Accepted date: 28 October 2023
Published date: 18 November 2023
Pp. 48–58, pls. 22–24.
A NEW DWARF GECKO SPECIES (SQUAMATA: GEKKONIDAE: Cnemaspis) FROM THE NORTHERN WESTERN GHATS OF INDIA
Amit Sayyed*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: amitsayyedsatara@gmail.com
Abstract
Based on molecular and morphological data, I describe a new species of the polyphyletic gekkonid genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 from the northern Western Ghats in India. The new species is the second smallest known Indian dwarf gekkonid and belongs to the clade of C. girii[i] sensu Pal [i]et al. (2021). It is genetically distinct from all congeners of the C. girii clade by p-distance ranging from 3.8 to 8.4 % on the 16S rRNA gene. Morphologically, the new species can be distinguished from all congeners by having the following combination of characters: A small species with adult males reaching a maximum SVL 27.0 mm; heterogeneous dorsal pholidosis with 11–12 longitudinal rows of enlarged tubercles; males with 3–4 femoral pores on each thigh, separated medially by 19–24 poreless scales; 63–65 middorsal scales; 136–150 ventral scales; 33–35 midbody scales; 12–14 subdigital lamellae under fourth digit of pes; feebly carinate scales on the neck and chest; and absence of conical or spine-like tubercles on flank.
Key words : dwarf geckos, girii clade, Maharashtra, molecular phylogeny, 16S, systematics, taxonomy
Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v12i2.307
Submitted date: 8 August 2023
Accepted date: 28 October 2023
Published date: 18 November 2023
Pp. 48–58, pls. 22–24.
A NEW DWARF GECKO SPECIES (SQUAMATA: GEKKONIDAE: Cnemaspis) FROM THE NORTHERN WESTERN GHATS OF INDIA
Amit Sayyed*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: amitsayyedsatara@gmail.com
Abstract
Based on molecular and morphological data, I describe a new species of the polyphyletic gekkonid genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 from the northern Western Ghats in India. The new species is the second smallest known Indian dwarf gekkonid and belongs to the clade of C. girii[i] sensu Pal [i]et al. (2021). It is genetically distinct from all congeners of the C. girii clade by p-distance ranging from 3.8 to 8.4 % on the 16S rRNA gene. Morphologically, the new species can be distinguished from all congeners by having the following combination of characters: A small species with adult males reaching a maximum SVL 27.0 mm; heterogeneous dorsal pholidosis with 11–12 longitudinal rows of enlarged tubercles; males with 3–4 femoral pores on each thigh, separated medially by 19–24 poreless scales; 63–65 middorsal scales; 136–150 ventral scales; 33–35 midbody scales; 12–14 subdigital lamellae under fourth digit of pes; feebly carinate scales on the neck and chest; and absence of conical or spine-like tubercles on flank.
Key words : dwarf geckos, girii clade, Maharashtra, molecular phylogeny, 16S, systematics, taxonomy
Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org
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