Calotes jerdoni Günther, 1870

Boruah, Bitupan, Narayanan, Surya, Deepak, V. & Das, Abhijit, 2022, Morphological and molecular differences in two closely related Calotes Cuvier 1817 (Squamata: Agamidae: Draconinae) with the first record of Calotes medogensis Zhao & Li, 1984 from India, Zootaxa 5219 (5), pp. 433-455 : 443-444

Calotes jerdoni Günther, 1870

Material examined: WII-ADR999, a male ( Figure 5 A, B ) collected from Malki forest (25°33ˊ24.4˝ N, 91°53ˊ33.9˝ E, Elevation: 1589 m asl.), Shillong, East Khasi Hills , Meghalaya, on 31 July , 2016 ( Figure 1 ); WII-ADR966, a female ( Figure 5 C, D ) collected from Dzuleke (25°38ˊ43.66˝ N, 93°59ˊ36.92˝ E, Elevation: 1987 m asl.), Kohima district , Nagaland, on 8 August , 2021 ( Figure 1 ). Type series as mentioned in the Appendix 2 .

As Calotes jerdoni is a poorly known species, designating a lectotype for the species would provide taxonomic stability. Therefore, we designate the best preserved type specimen ( BMNH 1946.8.11.54) among the syntypes as lectotype of C. jerdoni .

Diagnosis: A moderate-sized agamid lizard, SVL 63.2 mm – 76.7 in male (n= 4) and SVL 74.1 mm – 102.2 mm in female (n= 4), TailL 196 mm – 240 mm in male (n= 4) and 204 mm – 300 mm in female (n= 4). Nuchal and dorsal crests continuous, consisting of erect compressed scales, smaller posteriorly. Two series of supratympanic spines present. Body laterally compressed, scales at the trunk heterogeneous in size, larger than ventrals, larger at the midbody towards dorsal side, oriented backward, 34–41 dorsal scales, 46–58 rows of scales around midbody, 68–78 ventrals. Mental larger than the chin shields, first pair of chin shields are of almost equal length and width; separated from each other by a small hexagonal scale, the gular scales at the mid-line are nearly equal to the adjacent gular scales away from the mid-line. Dorsally and ventrally green in colour.

Description of the lectotype (BMNH 1946.8.11.54) ( Figure 4 ): an adult male collected from Khasya (Khasi hills, Meghalaya), India by T. C. Jerdon.

Specimen is in good condition. Moderate-sized lizard, SVL 76.6 mm, head distinct from neck, longer than width (HeadW/HeadL= 0.66), snout longer than orbital diameter (OrbD/SnEye= 0.71), loreal slightly concave, supraciliary and canthal ridge sharp, orbit three times larger than tympanum, supralabials 10 and 11 on right and left side respectively, infralabials 11 and 10 right and left side respectively. Body laterally compressed, 37 dorsal scales, 46 rows of scales around trunk at midbody, 71 ventrals, strongly keeled, a fold consisting of very small scales present in front of the shoulder. Tail rounded, TailL 213 mm, gradually tapering posteriorly, dorsal scales slightly smaller than that of ventral.

Colouration in preservative: head dorsally and laterally light brown, a light bluish patch on left lateral side of the head below eye, gular region light brown with a light bluish patch on left side, trunk dorsally and laterally light bluish, belly whitish, tail dorsally and ventrally light brown, a white dorso-lateral line edged with black on trunk starting from neck to base of tail, a short white streak on elbow and knee.

Morphological description of the newly collected materials: Morphometric and meristic characters are given in the Table 2 . Moderate-sized lizard, SVL 63.2 mm (male) and 93 mm (female), head distinct from neck ( Figure 5 ), longer than width (HeadW/HeadL= 0.64–0.68, n= 2), slightly concave in front, snout rounded in dorsal view, longer than orbital diameter (OrbD/SnEye= 0.72–0.79), loreal slightly concave, supraciliary and canthal ridge sharp, nostril elliptical, nasal large, orbit nearly three times larger than tympanum, pupil rounded, tympanum nearly rounded, rostral wider than mental, dorsal snout and head scales heterogenous in shape and size ( Figure 6 G, J ), scales at interorbital region, parietal region and occipital region with irregular ridge, scales at the loreal region, below and behind the orbit weakly keeled, heterogenous in shape and size, scales surrounding the eye are granular, feebly conical, scales surrounding tympanum are smaller than that of mandibular region and nape, supralabials nearly rectangular, elongated and smooth, a series of small elongated smooth scales above supralabials, rostral wide and narrow, interparietal scale with a distinct pit, two rows of elevated scales above tympanum, consisting of 8–9 scales, upper row starting from supraciliary to junction head and neck ( Figure 6 I, L ), the lower row just above the tympanum separated by two scales. Mental subtriangular, larger than the chin shields, infralabials smooth, narrow and elongated, first pair of chin shields are of almost equal length and width; separated by a small hexagonal scale, posterior chin shields are separated from infralabials by a series of narrow scales, size of the gular scales increases posteriorly, weakly keeled, scales between the chin shields are irregular in size and nearly of similar shape ( Figure 7 C, D ), subimbricate. Scales on neck are similar shape, posteriorly pointed, oriented backward, size increases dorsally and posteriorly, 9 nuchal spines, size increases posteriorly ( Figure 6 I, L ), length of the longest nuchal spine was less than twice the width (LongN/WidthN = 1.29–1.93, n= 8). Body laterally compressed, triangular in cross section. Dorsal crests reduced to a mere ridge on posterior body. Dorsal and lateral scales on trunk larger than ventrals, heterogenous in size, larger at the middle towards dorsal side, feebly keeled, pointed, more posteriorly oriented than dorsally, 39–41 dorsal scales, 54–58 rows of scales around trunk at midbody, ventral scales smaller than that of dorsal and lateral, strongly keeled; heterogenous in size, pointed, 77–78 ventrals, scales at the axilla, groin and insertion of hind limb are smaller, a fold consisting of very small scales present in front of the shoulder. Limbs moderate, thin, all scales keeled, smaller at the insertion, scales on ventral side of thigh are smaller than that of crus. Digits slender with strong and curved claw, lamellae entire, bicarinate. Tail rounded, gradually tapering posteriorly, dorsal scales slightly smaller than that of ventral, scales below cloaca smaller and size increases posteriorly, ventral scales strongly keeled, forming continuous ridge.

Colouration in preservative: WII-ADR999 dorsally and ventrally uniform dark grey, tympanic shield and orbit whitish. WII-ADR966 dorsally anterior head to the level of interparietal grey; posterior part whitish, loreal region, behind the orbit to angle of jaw grey; tympanic region, mandibular region, below the level of nostril, both lips creamy white, dorsal, lateral and ventral of neck including nuchal spines creamy white to below axilla, trunk, tail and hindlimbs dark grey, forelimbs creamy white, ventrally head and chest whitish, rest of the belly, hind limbs and tail grey, forelimbs and crus ventrally creamy white. No light coloured patch on elbow, knee and heel visible.

Colouration in life: Dorsal, lateral and ventral side of head green ( Figure 10 ), dark stripes on orbit radiating from eye; sometimes slightly faint, tympanic shield light green. Trunk uniform green, on each side light brown lateral stripe starting from neck to tail may be present ( Figure 10B ). Tail dorsally green with light brown patches of irregular shape. White scales may be present on lateral side of trunk and forming discontinuous stripe on ventrolateral side. A dark brown black fold on shoulder. Ventrally pale uniform green. Light reddish-brown patch on elbow, knee and heel.

Morphological comparison: Calotes jerdoni closely resembles with Calotes medogensis in external appearance. Morphological differences between these two species are mentioned above under Calotes jerdoni . It differs from Calotes maria by the presence of dark brown fold covered with small scales on the shoulder (vs. dark brown fold on shoulder absent), ridges above the tympanum not spinous (vs. spinous), nuchal spines less developed (vs. nuchal spines more pronounced) (Smith 1935).

Natural history: We recorded the individuals of Calotes jerdoni on shrubs along road and forest edge. Frequently observed roosting on shrubs at night.

Distribution: Calotes jerdoni is widely reported from northeast India to China. We recorded the species Malki forest, Shillong, Meghalaya and Dzuleke, Nagaland. Earlier reported from Khasi Hills, Meghalaya ( Gunther 1870), Barail Wildlife Sanctuary ( Das et al. 2009), Tinsukia and Dibrugarh district of Assam ( Sengupta et al. 2019), Ukhrul in the state of Manipur, Kohima, Nagaland ( Das et al. 2009), Chin Hills and Maymyo in Myanmar, Western Yunan (Teng-yueh), China (Smith 1935). Earlier reports from north of Brahmaputra River including Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan could be referred to Calotes medogensis .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map showing type localities and collection localities of Calotes medogensis (red) and Calotes jerdoni (blue). Type localities are represented by star. 1. Medog, China 2. Ramsing, Mouling National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India 3. Poba Reserve Forest, Arunachal Pradesh, India, 4. Malki forest, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, 5. Dzuleke, Nagaland, India.

FIGURE 4: Newly collected specimens of Calotes jerdoni. A. & B. WII-ADR999, C. & D. WII-ADR966. Scale bar = 10 mm.”

FIGURE 5. Lectotype of Calotes jerdoni (BMNH 1946.8.11.54). A. dorsolateral view, B. ventral view, C. head in dorsal view,D. head in ventral view, E. head in lateral view. Scale bar =10mm.

FIGURE 6. Preserved specimens of Calotes medogensis (A-C. WII-ADR1211, D-F. WII-ADR452) and Calotes jerdoni (G-I. WII-ADR999, J-L. WII-ADR966) showing head in dorsal, ventral and lateral view. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 7. Diagrammatic representation of ventral view of head showing difference in scalation between Calotes medogensis A. WII-ADR452, female, B. WII-ADR1211, female and Calotes jerdoni C. WII-ADR966, female, D. (WII-ADR999, male. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 10. Calotes jerdoni in life. A. from Malki forest, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya (WII-ADR999), B. from Dzuleke, Nagaland (WII-ADR966).