Cyrtopodion walli ( Ingoldby 1922 )

Auffenberg, Kurt, Krysko, Kenneth L. & Rehman, Hafizur, 2010, Studies on Pakistan Lizards: Cyrtopodion baturense (Khan and Baig 1992) and Cyrtopodion walli (Ingoldby 1922) (Sauria: Gekkonidae), Zootaxa 2636, pp. 1-20 : 7-11

Cyrtopodion walli ( Ingoldby 1922)

Figures 5–7

Gymnodactylus walli Ingoldby 1922 , Journal of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 28:1051. Type locality: Chitral, Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan.

Gymnodactylus stoliczkai (in partim) Smith 1935:57, Fauna of British India, Reptilia and Amphibia vol. 2, Sauria .

Gymnodactylus (Cyrtodactylus) stoliczkai (in partim) Mertens 1969, Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde 197:25.

Cyrtodactylus stoliczkai (in partim) Minton 1988:160, Reptiles of the Pakistan Deserts.

Tenuidactylus stoliczkai (in partim) Szczerbak & Golubev 1984:55, Vestnik Zoologii.

Cyrtopodion stoliczkai Welch et al. 1990:17 , Lizards of the Orient A Checklist.

Gonydactylus stoliczkai (in partim) Kluge 1991, Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 85:13.

Gymnodactylus walli Khan 1992 , Herpetological Journal 2:106.

Gymnodactylus chitralensis Smith 1935:46 , Fauna of British India, Reptilia and Amphibia, vol. 2, Sauria , pl. I, fig. E. Type locality: Karakal, Bumhoet Valley, Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan. Khan 1992, Herpetological Journal 2:106.

Cyrtodactylus walli Kluge 1993:9 , Gekkonoid Lizard Taxonomy.

Tenuidactylus walli Khan 1997:384 , Biodiversity of Pakistan.

Mesodactylus walli Khan 1999 , Pakistan Journal of Zoology 31:278.

Mediodactylus walli Khan 2003 , Journal of Natural History and Wildlife 2:5.

Specimens examined. Chitral District, Northwest Frontier, Pakistan; Chitral: BMNH 1910.7.12.1 (holotype; Fig. 5 ), BMNH 1946.5.23.19 (recataloged, previously BMNH 1933.7.8.2, syntype of Gymnodactylus chitralensis Smith 1935 , but see discussion below; Fig. 6 ), UF 82302–12, 88003–20 (UF 88011 illustrated in Fig. 7 ); 7.0 km N Drosh: UF 82366–67; Ayun, ca. 20.0 km S Chitral: UF 82368–75; Bamburet Valley: UF 88022–23; Bermoghluscht: UF 88024–25; Drosh Tehsil: UF 88027–36.

Description of holotype (neonate, gender unknown). SVL = 26.0 mm; TL = unknown, associated tail does not match holotype; HL/SVL = 0.300; HW/HL = 0.628; HH/HW = 0.714; EYD/EYN = 0.800; EAD/ EYD = 0.062; two post-nasals; four medial scales between post-nasals; 10–11 supralabials; eight to nine infralabials; 20 interorbitals; nine scales surrounding roundish dorsal tubercles; 165 scales between postmentals and cloaca; 23 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; three pairs of post-mentals; dark color bands: one on head, one on nape, five on body; 15 scales between eye and ear; 10 longitudinal rows of enlarged, dorsal tubercles; 24 transverse rows of ventrals at mid-body; 12 subdigital lamellae on first toe; three cloacal spines; 20–21 subdigital lamellae on fourth finger; first pair of post-mentals in contact; head scales not homogenous in size; mental triangular; pre-cloacal pores absent; dark color band from nostril through eye; femoral spines and pores absent.

Variation. Medium-sized geckos (SVL of largest adult = 61.8 mm), tail longer than body (longest TL = 82.5 mm), SVL/TL, mean = 0.745 + 0.072 (n = 22); limbs moderate, hind limb extends to axilla, forelimb to nostril; body and head moderately dorso-ventrally compressed. Head moderate (HL/SVL, mean = 0.254 + 0.014, HW/HL, mean = 0.733 + 0.035, HH/HW, mean = 0.510 + 0.041, snout slightly longer than distance between eye and ear. Eye large, EYD/EYN, mean = 0.719 + 0.071; ear opening ovate, small, EAD/EYD, mean = 0.285 + 0.064. Nostril bordered by rostral, first supralabial, and three postnasals; middle postnasal largest, others subequal in size; zero to four medial scales between postnasals, usually one or two. Dorsal head scales heterogeneous in size, slightly larger on snout, scattered enlarged tubercles in occipital region; 16–22 interorbital scales; loreals with small projections on posterior half of eye; 14–19 scales between eye and ear opening; rostral partially cleft; nine to 11 supralabials, seven to 10 infralabials; mental triangular, about as long as broad; three pairs of postmentals, decreasing in size posteriorly, first pair in contact, with a broad suture; third pair often variable in size, may be substantially larger on one side, sometimes separated from infralabials by a series of smaller scales. Dorsum of body and limbs with small roundish, beaded to flat scales intermixed with larger, roundish to ovate tubercles. Tubercles surrounded by rosettes of eight to 12 small scales; tubercles four to five times larger than granular scales, smooth, flat to rounded, sometimes indistinctly keeled, often conical laterally; arranged in 10–12 longitudinal rows. Paravertebral rows separated by three to four granular scales. Limbs with scattered enlarged flat to conical dorsal tubercles. Lateral fold indistinct, often absent; venter with hexagonal to roundish, slightly imbricate scales, 27–36 across middle of belly; 143– 182 from postmentals to cloaca; gulars small, granular; a chevron-shaped series of four enlarged pre-cloacal scales, often broken into two pairs separated by one or two much smaller scales; four pre-cloacal pores present in males; larger females with indentations in each of four enlarged scales. Femoral pores and spines absent; subfemoral scales uniform in size, about three-fourths as large as ventrals. Cloacal spines usually present, zero to four per side. Digits moderate, clawed, subdigital lamellae well-developed, smooth, nearly as broad as digit, 16–22 on fourth finger, 11–14 on first toe, 22–28 on fourth toe. Tail dorso-ventrally compressed in anterior two-thirds, round posterior one-third, base swollen in males, anterior two-thirds with shallow dorsal medial groove, anterior half distinctly segmented, tapering to point, seven to nine whorls in anterior third of tail, each segment in anterior half with one enlarged, rounded to weakly keeled dorso-lateral tubercle and two to three enlarged, bluntly conical lateral tubercles per side, medial tubercle largest; tubercles reduced in size and number (two) distally, indistinct or absent on posterior one-third; six to 10 rows of scales per whorl, two terminal rows (distal to enlarged tubercles) comprised of transverse series of rectangular scales. Ventral tail base with numerous small scales, gradually becoming larger with central transverse series of two scales largest; dorsal four-fifths with single series of transversely enlarged scales, usually with two smaller scales ventral to enlarged tubercles; shallow medial groove in anterior half to two-thirds of tail; dorsum of regenerated tail with uniformly-sized, flattened scales, tubercles lacking, a single series of transversely enlarged scales below.

Dorsal ground color light - to medium - gray with seven to nine irregular transverse darker gray to brown bars, with even darker posterior margins, one in occipital area, one at nape, and five to seven on body; nine to 15 dark bars on tail; limbs with short grayish-brown bands; grayish-brown bar from nostril through eye; top of head sparsely mottled; labials with dark speckles; venter whitish.

Distribution. All known records occur north of the Lowari Pass (3,209 m elevation) in the lower Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan from Drosh northward as far as Birmogh Lasht, a village a few kilometers north of the town of Chitral ( Fig. 4 ). These localities lie along the highway that generally follows the Kunar River. It has also been collected in the Bumboret River valley, a large tributary of the Kunar River within the Kafir Kalash Tribal Area (also see Smith 1935 for Gymnodactylus chitralensis ). These localities range from 1,970–2,120 m elevation.

We are unaware of any records from other tributaries of the Kunar River in the Kalash region (Rumbur and Birir rivers), as well as the Shishi River drainage to the east, and upper Chitral District (north of Birmogh Lasht), albeit these areas of Pakistan are very poorly surveyed. Additionally, its distribution southwest of Drosh in the Kunar River valley is unknown. The species may occur in the Nuristan region of the borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Habitat. The lower elevations of the mountains in Chitral District are denuded of much of their original conifer forests. River valleys have been mostly converted to agriculture although they are often forested with various broadleaf species.

Wall (1911:132) states that the species (as Gymnodactylus stoliczkai ) is common around Drosh Fort, being found in packing crates and rubbish piles during the day and in the open at night. Individuals were encountered active at night most often on human habitations, including wooden and earthen structures during our surveys. Others were collected at night on tree trunks in a reforestation project site.

Reproduction. Two neonates (UF 82370 collected 7 July 1991 and UF 88004 collected 16 June 1993, SVL = 31.6 mm and 30.8 mm, respectively) indicate that hatching takes place in spring to early summer.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Distribution of Cyrtopodion baturense (squares), C. walli (circles), and C. stoliczkai (triangle). Star within symbol indicates holotype locality for respective taxon. Note that additional records for C. stoliczkai, including the type locality, occur in northern Kashmir, about 300 km southeast of locality above (see Auffenberg et al., 2004).

FIGURE 5. Holotype (BMNH 1910.7.12.1) of Cyrtopodion walli (Ingoldby 1922). A. dorsal and B. ventral views.

FIGURE 6. Syntype (BMNH 1946.5.23.19) of Cyrtopodion chitralensis (Smith 1935). A. dorsal and B. ventral views.

FIGURE 7. Cyrtopodion walli (Ingoldby 1922) (UF 88011). A. dorsal and B. ventral views.