Cyrtopodion vindhya, Patel & Thackeray & Mirza & Vyas, 2023

Patel, Harshil, Thackeray, Tejas, Mirza, Zeeshan A. & Vyas, Raju, 2023, A new species of naked-toed gecko Cyrtopodion sensu lato (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Gujarat, India, Zootaxa 5254 (3), pp. 398-412 : 399-409

Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov.

Figs. 1–6 ; Table 1

LSID number. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:74097729-B2E9-4272-898B-C15D1A99D965

‘ Cyrtopodion ’ sp. GUJ Agarwal et al. 2014: 460 (fig. 2)

Cyrtopodion sp. Patel & Vyas 2019: 770

Cyrtopodion cf. aravallensis Vyas 2019: 51

Holotype. BNHS 3130 , adult male; from Udhal Mahuda (22.57535°N 74.06451°E; ca. 270 m a.s.l.), Dahod district , Gujarat, India, collected by Raju Vyas and Harshil Patel on 20 April 2022.

Paratypes. BNHS 3131 , NCBS NRC-AA- 0024, adult females, same data as holotype .

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition for the Vindhya hill ranges from where the new species was collected.

Diagnosis. Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. differs from all its congeners by the following combination of characteristics: SVL up to 50 mm; dorsal scalation on trunk granular, intermixed with enlarged, regularly arranged transverse rows of 15 trihedral tubercles; 6 transverse rows of tubercles on the second segment of the tail; subcaudal scales in single median series, two subcaudal scales in each tail segment, subcaudal scales wider than high, bifid subcaudal scales on the tip of original tail; midbody scale rows across belly 20–22; midventral scales 89–97; 12–13 lamellae on digit I of manus and 18–21 on digit IV of manus; 14–15 lamellae on digit I of pes and 22–33 on digit IV of pes; 9–10 supralabials, 8–9 infralabials; males with a continuous series of 29–33 precloacal-femoral pores; three pairs of postmentals, first pair in broad contact.

Comparisons. Major diagnostic characters for Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. and all its congeners are summarized in Table 2 . Here, we provide detailed comparison of C. vindhya sp. nov. with its Indian congeners.

Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. differs from C. kachhense in having lower numbers of midbody scale rows across belly (20–22 versus 28–35) and midventral scales (89–97 versus 100–128); regularly arranged transverse rows of 15 trihedral tubercles (versus 12–14); less subcaudals per tail segment (2 versus 3); single row of transversally enlarged subcaudals (versus 2 rows); males with a continuous series of 29–33 precloacal-femoral pores (versus 4–8 precloacal pores). It differs from C. mansarulus in having lower numbers of midbody scale rows across belly (20–22 versus 27–28); males with a continuous series of 29–33 precloacal-femoral pores (versus 7 precloacal pores) and from C. montiumsalsorum in having lower numbers of midventral scales (89–97 versus 103–115); regularly arranged transverse rows of 15 trihedral tubercles (versus 12–13); three pairs of postmentals (versus two pairs). Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. differs from C. scabrum in having regularly arranged transverse rows of 15 trihedral tubercles (versus 12–13); males with a continuous series of 29–33 precloacal-femoral pores (versus 4–7 precloacal pores) and from C. aravallense in having lower numbers of midbody scale rows across belly (20–22 versus 25–26) and midventral scales (89–97 versus 102); males with a continuous series of 29–33 precloacal-femoral pores (versus 6 precloacal pores, 7–8 femoral pores on each side separated by 3–5 poreless scales between precloacal and femoral pores).

Description of male Holotype (BNHS 3130). The holotype is generally in good condition with some minor artefacts of preservation ( Fig. 1 ). The body shape is dorsoventrally flattened, tail tip removed as tissue sample for molecular analyses, forelimbs slightly adpressed, gular region and eyes sunken.

Adult male, SVL 46.5 mm. Head short (HL/SVL ratio 0.29), slightly elongate (HW/HL ratio 0.76), not strongly depressed (HH/HL ratio 0.41), relatively broad (HW/BW ratio 0.88), distinct from neck ( Fig. 2A, 2B ). Loreal region slightly inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout short (SE/HL ratio 0.44); twice longer than eye diameter (OD/SE ratio 0.51); scales on snout, canthus rostralis, forehead and glabellar region homogeneous in shape and slightly heterogenous in size, those on glabellar region being smallest, scales on anterior supraocular region largest followed by those on snout that are of intermediate size; rounded, flat and juxtaposed, except 1 to 2 rows at preocular position that are smaller and somewhat flattened; scales on occipital region heterogenous, granular, inter mixed with slightly larger, rounded, weakly conical tubercles, gradually increasing in size towards neck region ( Fig. 2A ); 41 scales between rostral and occiput sinus. Eye small (OD/HL ratio 0.23); pupil vertical with crenate margins; superciliaries small, mucronate, increasing in size towards upper anterior portion of eye. Ear opening oval (greatest diameter 1.2 mm); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye (EE/OD ratio 1.35). Rostral wider (2.1 mm) than deep (1.6 mm), incompletely divided dorsally by weakly developed rostral groove; two internasals (can also be called as supranasal), slightly in contact with a small scale wedged between them; two pairs of nasals, slightly smaller than the supranasal; rostral in contact with nasal, supralabial I and internasals; nostrils large, slightly oval, directed outwards. Mental triangular, slightly wider (2.4 mm) than long (2.3 mm); three pairs of well-developed postmentals, the inner pair largest and broadly in contact with each other behind mental, size gradually decreasing with outer most pair being the smallest ( Fig. 2B ). Mental bordered by infralabial I and first pair of postmental; first postmental in contact with two gular scales; second and third postmental in contact with three to four and five gular scales respectively. Infralabials bordered by one or two rows of enlarged and elongated scales starting from posterior portion of infralabial III to infralabial VIII. Supralabials (to midorbital position) 9 (right)–9 (left); infralabials (to midorbital position) 8 (right)–8 (left).

Body robust, trunk not elongate (TRL/SVL ratio 0.39), with a distinct ventrolateral fold. Dorsal pholidosis heterogenous, composed of flat, granular scales intermixed with regularly arranged, longitudinal rows of 15 enlarged trihedral tubercles at midbody, extending from nape to tail, the paravertebral tubercles are smaller in size compared to the adjacent rows, 26 transverse rows of tubercles between occiput sinus and middle of sacrum; those on nape are slightly smaller; enlarged tubercles on the back roughly 11 to 15 times longer than adjacent granules, surrounded by rosette of 12–16 small granules, 1–2 granules between two adjacent enlarged tubercles. Ventral scales much larger than granular scales on dorsum, roughly pentagonal to hexagonal, smooth, imbricate, more or less similar in size throughout, except 4 to 5 rows on precloacal and last row on femoral region being largest; midbody scale rows across belly 20; midventral scales 93; gular region with more or less similar, smooth, rounded, subimbricate scales, increasing in size anteriolaterally ( Fig. 2A ). Two subequal, smooth, conical postcloacal spurs on each side, much smaller than dorsal tubercles; anterior one slightly bigger in size.

A continuous series of 33 precloacal-femoral pores ( Fig. 3 ). Scales on the palm and sole granular; scales on upper arm heterogeneous, imbricate on dorsal side and granular on the ventral side, with 3 to 4 uppermost scale rows keeled; those on forearm heterogenous, imbricate, intermixed with enlarged conical, keeled tubercles; scales on hindlimbs heterogenous, dorsal part of thigh and shank are similar like dorsum, with granular scales, intermixed with enlarged, trihedral, strongly keeled tubercles, which are denser on shank than thigh, anterior portion of thighs and ventral aspect of hindlimbs with much enlarged, smooth, imbricate scales. Fore and hind limbs relatively slender; forearm short (FL/SVL ratio 0.17); tibia short (CL/SVL ratio 0.20); digits moderately long, thin, strongly clawed; subdigital lamellae not enlarged and are as following: 13-18-19-20-17 (left manus) 13-18-19-20-18 (right manus; Fig. 4A ), 14-19-22-23-20 (left pes) 15-18-22-23-21 (right pes; Fig. 4B ).

Tail partly regenerated, depressed; original tail verticillate, oval in transverse section; dorsal tail pholidosis heterogenous with smaller, rounded, sub-imbricate scales, weakly keeled, gradually increasing in size towards lateral aspect and tail tip, intermixed with six much enlarged strongly keeled, pointed tubercles. Median subcaudal series much enlarged, covering base of the tail, with a row of much smaller, flat, weakly pointed, subimbricate scales on either side.

Colouration in life. ( Fig. 6A & 6B ) Dorsum ground colour of body, head, limbs and tail light-yellowish brown or tan; top of head with indistinct tan to brownish blotches on rostrum, posterior part of canthus rostralis and occiput; labials lighter and pinkish in shade compared to dorsum of head; an indistinct postorbital streak extending as far as ear opening; neck with pair of dark bands, 4 transverse dark brownish bands made up of 2 rows of tubercles on dorsum, followed by 1 or 2 thin whitish bands made up of a single tubercle row; gular pinkish white; venter pale white; limbs with indistinct crossbars and a few lighter blotches; 3 dark caudal bands followed by a thin whitish band.

Colouration in preservative. Similar to the colouration in life, except bands and colouration slightly faded.

Variation. The paratypes ( Fig. 5 ) match the holotype in most aspects except for details presented here and in Table 1 : midbody scale rows across belly in both the paratypes are 21–22; midventral scales 89 ( BNHS 3131 ) and 97 ( NCBS NRC-AA-0024 ); both paratype females do not possess precloacal-femoral pores. Two uncollected males possessed a continuous series of 29–31 precloacal-femoral pores .

Distribution and Natural history. A nocturnal species, associated with granite boulders. Individuals emerge from the crevices and cracks in the rocks just after dusk and will retreat with the slightest disturbance. Mostly rupicolous in its habits but can be found on ground as well. Other lizard species found in the region are Hemidactylus gleadowi Murray, 1884 , Hemidactylus flaviviridis Rüppell, 1835 , Eutropis macularia ( Blyth, 1853) , Eutropis carinata ( Schneider, 1801) , Ophisops sp. , Ophisops agarwali Patel & Vyas, 2020 , Calotes vultuosus ( Harlan, 1825) , Psammophilus blanfordanus ( Stoliczka, 1871) and Sitana spinaecephalus Deepak, Vyas & Giri, 2016 . The type series was collected from Udhal Mahuda in Dahod district, Gujarat, India. The species was also observed at several other locations, especially in the hilly areas of Dahod district (Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary, Pipargota, Devgadh Baria, Dhanpur), Panch Mahal district (Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, Pavagadh, Richhya, Shivrajpur), and Chhota Udepur district (Kundal, Raypur, Makhaniyo Parvat, Pavijetpur). The species is likely to occur in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh (Alirajpur district), which shares a similar biotope in its bordering region with Gujarat. These locations suggest that the species might be restricted to low to mid elevation hills (elevation range 200–750 m a.s.l.) of deciduous forests associated with granite boulders ( Fig. 7 ). The entire area is situated at the western end of the Vindhya (=Vindhyachal) hills range, north of the river Narmada. The area is covered with grass, shrubs, and large deciduous trees that include, Timru / Tendu ( Diospyros melanoxylon ), Charoli ( Buchanania lanzan ), Sadad ( Terminalia crenulate), Mahudo ( Madhuca indica ), Teak ( Tectona grandis ) with scattered Bamboo ( Bambusa arundinacea / Dendrocalamus strictus ). The entire forest area is of the Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous type, further classified into four sub-types, i.e. 5A/C 1b dry teak forest, 5A/C 2 southern dry mixed deciduous forest, 5/E 9 dry bamboo brakes, and 3B/C 2 southern moist mixed deciduous forest ( Champion & Seth 1968).

A number of gravid females were observed during the months of March-April, and young and juveniles were noted at the end of April to June, which indicates that the breeding season is prior to monsoon. Keretophagy behaviors were observed in the species ( Vyas 2019).

Conservation status: This gecko is very common in certain pockets, especially areas of low-hight hills of large granite boulders covered with spare vegetation /degraded forests.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal view (A), ventral view (B) of adult male holotype (BNHS 3130) of Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. Scale bar: 10 mm.

FIGURE 2. Head of Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. (adult male holotype, BNHS 3130), ventral view (A), dorsal view (B), lateral view from right side (C), lateral view from left side (D).

FIGURE 3. Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. (adult male holotype, BNHS 3130), view of cloacal region showing precloacalfemoral pores. Scales with pores are marked with black dots.

FIGURE 4. Ventral view of right manus (A) and right pes (B) of adult male holotype (BNHS 3130) of Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov.

FIGURE 5. Paratypes of Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov., adult female, BNHS 3131 (A), adult female, NCBS NRC-AA-0024 (B). Scale bar: 10 mm.

FIGURE 6. Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. in life, dorsolateral view (A) and dorsal view (B) of adult male holotype (BNHS 3130), dorsolateral view (C) of adult female paratype (BNHS 3131).

FIGURE 7. Habitat photo of Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov., (A) low to mid elevation hills of Vindhya hill range near the type locality and (B) boulders near Udhal mahuda, Dahod, Gujarat, India.

Tables

TABLE 1. Morphological and meristic data for type specimens of Cyrtopodion vindhya sp. nov. ‘*’ indicates incomplete or regenerated tail.

Specimens number	BNHS 3130	BNHS 3131	NCBS NRC-AA-0024
	Holotype	Paratype	Paratype
Sex	♁	♀	♀
SVL	46.5	42.5	49.5
TRL	18.3	15.9	18.2
BW	11.7	11.2	12.4
CL	9.4	9.3	10.4
TL	21*	57.4	21.7*
TW	5.5	4.7	5.2
HL	13.5	12.5	14.5
HW	10.3	9.6	10.6
HH	5.6	4.6	5.1
FL	8.1	7.3	8.2
OD	3.1	2.8	3.1
NE	4.8	4.4	5.1
SE	6	5.3	6.4
EE	4.2	3.7	4.3
EL	1.2	1.2	1.4
IN	1.7	1.4	1.9
IO	5.9	5.4	5.8
Pores	33	-	-
Dorsal Tubercle Rows	15	15	15
Scales across belly	20	21-22	21-22
Scales between mental and vent	93	89	97
Lamellae
L manus	13-18-19-20-17	13-17-18-21-18	12-16-17-19-17
R manus	13-18-19-20-18	13-17-19-20-18	12-16-19-18-17
L pes	14-19-22-23-20	14-18-22-23-21	14-19-21-23-21
R pes	15-18-22-23-21	14-19-22-23-21	14-18-21-22-20
Supralabials L/R	9/10	9/9	10/9
Infralabials L/R	8/9	8/8	8/8