Corresponding author: Akshay Khandekar (
Academic editor: Uwe Fritz
South Asian
Diurnality has evolved multiple times within the ancestrally nocturnal
South Asian
Elevation map showing the distribution of members of the
The highest diversity within the
Surveys were conducted in both day and night time, specimens were spotted on rocks, building walls, sometimes on tree trunks, and collected by hand, followed by euthanasia using isoflurane after taking colour photos in life. Liver tissues of at least three individuals of each new species were collected in molecular grade ethanol and subsequently stored at –20°C for genetic analysis. Specimens were fixed in 8% formalin for ~12–24 hours, washed and kept in tap water for ~24 hours, and transferred to 70% ethanol for long-term storage. Specimens are deposited in the museum and research collection facility at the
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru (
Total genomic DNA was extracted from tail/ liver tissues using the Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue extraction kit for the new species and some individuals of
List of
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BNHS 2336 (AK 107) | India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Sankari |
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India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Sankari |
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NRC-AA-1215 (AK 267) | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Agaya Gangai Waterfalls |
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NRC-AA-1214 (AK 268) | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Agaya Gangai Waterfalls |
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ZM003 | India, Kerala, Peppara |
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AK 135 | India, Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore District, Valparai |
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CES L 606 | India, Tamil Nadu, Palakkad District, Chennathanair RF |
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CES L 607 | India, Tamil Nadu, Palakkad District, Chennathanair RF |
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CES G 385 | India, Kerala, Palakkad District, near Chittur river | MK7924 |
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CES L 192 | India, Tamil Nadu, Vairavankulam RF, near Karuppanadhi dam |
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NRC-AA-1223 (AK 284) | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Kollimalai ghat |
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NRC-AA-1224 (AK 285) | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Kollimalai ghat |
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CES G 131 | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Kollimalai ghat |
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CES L 044 | India, Kerala, Wayanad District, Manikunjmalai |
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NRC-AA-1176 (AKR 443) | India, Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli District, Mundanthurai forest range |
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NRC-AA-1177 (AKR 445) | India, Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli District, Mundanthurai forest range |
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NRC-AA-1231 (AK 708) | India, Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirapalli District, Pachaimalai |
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NRC-AA-1232 (AK 709) | India, Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirapalli District, Pachaimalai |
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NRC-AA-1239 (AK 208) | India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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NRC-AA-1240 (AK 209) | India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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NRC-AA-1241 (AK 212) | India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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NRC-AA-1242 (AK 213) | India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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NRC-AA-1205 (AK 257) | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Kollimalai |
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NRC-AA-1206 (AK 258) | India, Tamil Nadu, Namakkal District, Kollimalai |
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India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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CES G 143 | India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Yercaud |
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The best fit models of sequence evolution and partitions were selected using the Bayesian Information Criteria in Partitionfinder 2 (
Morphological data were collected from a total of 44 specimens of the five new species. We restricted morphological comparisons to the
The partial ND2 sequences for the new species ranged from 325–851 nucleotides. The monophyly of the
Maximum likelihood tree of the
Uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence within previously named species of the
Pairwise uncorrected ND2 sequence divergence between members of the
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1 |
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2 |
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7.8 |
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3 |
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8.2 | 9.8 |
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4 |
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8.7 | 10.4 | 11.3 | 0.2 | ||||||
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9.0 | 9.8 | 10.4 | 7.8 | - | |||||
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8.8 | 10.7 | 10.6 | 7.6 | 6.1 |
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9.9 | 10.5 | 12.0 | 9.1 | 8.5 | 8.9 |
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8 |
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11.0 | 12.8 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 14.2 |
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9 |
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17.2 | 16.4 | 17.3 | 15.8 | 18.2 | 16.8 | 14.3 | 19.7 |
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7.9 | 9.5 | 4.6 | 10.2 | 9.7 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 13.3 | 17.8 |
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13.2 | 14.4 | 14.1 | 12.9 | 12.3 | 13.3 | 13.5 | 16.6 | 14.3 | 13.6 |
NRC-AA-1204 (AK 683), adult male, from the vicinity of Nallathambi resort, (
NRC-AA-1205 (AK 257), NRC-AA-1206 (AK 258), subadult males, NRC-AA-1207 (AK 259), NRC-AA-1208 (AK 261), NRC-AA-1209 (AK 263), adult males, NRC-AA-1210 (AK 265), adult female, same locality as holotype except collected by Akshay Khandekar, Ishan Agarwal, Nikhil Gaitonde, Varad Giri, Chaitanya R, and Aniruddha Dutta-Roy on 20th December 2018; NRC-AA-1212 (AK690), adult male, NRC-AA-1211 (AK 689), adult female, same data as holotype.
The specific epithet is a patronym honouring the eminent ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali (1896–1987) for his immense contributions to field research and conservation in India.
Salim Ali’s dwarf gecko.
A medium-sized
Mensural (mm) data for the type series of
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35.0 | 31.3 | 31.6 | 36.8 | 36.5 | 37.6 | 41.1 | 41.3 | 36.4 |
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45.0 | 2.7* | 6.7* | 14.0* | 48.5 | 48.6 | 45.2 | 50.6 | 49.2 |
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3.5 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.4 |
LAL | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.6 |
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6.7 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 7.1 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.7 |
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13.3 | 12.6 | 12.9 | 15.7 | 15.0 | 15.6 | 18.8 | 17.8 | 14.3 |
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3.3 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
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5.8 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 8.3 | 6.4 |
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8.9 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 9.2 |
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6.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.2 |
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3.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
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1.8 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
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2.7 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
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4.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
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3.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.5 |
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1.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
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1.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
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0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
Meristic data for the type series of
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10&10 | 8&9 | 8&8 | 9&9 | 9&8 | 9&9 | 9&10 | 8&7 | 9&9 | |
8&8 | 7&8 | 7&7 | 8&9 | 9&9 | 9&8 | 9&9 | 8&8 | 9&8 | |
6&6 | 6&6 | 7&6 | 5&6 | 7&7 | 6&6 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | |
6&6 | 5&6 | 6&5 | 5&6 | 6&6 | 6&5 | 5&5 | 5&6 | 5&6 | |
irr | / | / | 18&18 | 18&18 | *&17 | 18&18 | 16&17 | 18&17 | |
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12 | 11 | / | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
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30 | 33 | 30 | 30 | 33 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 31 |
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109 | 114 | 113 | 118 | 116 | 128 | 117 | 114 | 117 |
12&12 | 11&12 | 10&10 | 11&11 | 11&11 | 11&11 | 11&11 | 10&11 | 11&11 | |
16&17 | 15&16 | 18&16 | 18&18 | 16&17 | 17&17 | 16&16 | 18&18 | 18&18 | |
12&12 | 11&11 | 10&10 | 10&11 | 10&10 | 11&10 | 10&10 | 11&11 | 10&11 | |
22&22 | 21&22 | 22&22 | 21&22 | 21&21 | 21&20 | 22&22 | 15*&22 | 24&23 | |
19&19 | 15*&19 | 18&18 | 19&20 | 19&18 | 19&19 | 18&18 | 18&19 | 20&21 | |
1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 2&2 | 1&1 | abs. | abs. | 1&2 | |
SBPP | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | abs. | abs. | 3 |
7&6 | 6&6 | 7&6 | 7&6 | 7&6 | 6&6 | abs. | abs. | 6&5 | |
5&4 | 4&4 | 4&4 | 4&3 | 3&4 | 4&3 | abs. | abs. | 5&5 | |
SBFP | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. |
1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 |
Adult male in good state of preservation except regenerated portion of tail tip slightly bent towards right (Fig.
Additional morphological character states evaluation for the type series of
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Anterior extra-brillar fringe scales enlarged (1) or not enlarged (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ventral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gular scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pectoral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Precloacal pores continuous (1) or separated (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | abs. | abs. | 0 |
Precloacal pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | abs. | 1 |
femoral pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | abs. | abs. | 1 |
Dorsal pholidosis homogeneous (1) or heterogeneous (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dorsal tubercles keeled (1) or not keeled (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tubercles linearly arranged (1) or more random (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Spine-like scales on flank present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lateral caudal furrows present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Subcaudals keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Single median row of keeled subcaudals (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Caudal tubercles encircle tail (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged median subcaudal scale row (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged femoral scales present (1) or absent (0) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Subtibial scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Occipital ocellus present (1) or absent (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Ocelli anterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) |
Ocelli posterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Original tail banded (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Body relatively slender (
Scales on palms and soles small, smooth, rounded, and flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogeneous in shape and size; mixture of small granular, weakly keeled, imbricate scales that are twice the size of granules on body dorsum, largest on anterolateral aspect of hands and feet; scales on upper arm larger than lower; posterolateral aspect of limbs with small weakly keeled to smooth granular scales; ventral aspect of forelimbs with small, smooth, subimbricate scales, larger on lower arm than upper arm; ventral aspect of hindlimb with enlarged, smooth, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger than body ventrals (Fig.
Tail original except tip (15.1 mm) which is regenerated, entire, subcylindrical, slender, slightly longer than snout-vent length (
Dorsum of head, body, limbs and tail base mottled light brown. Head with some orange blotches and alternating yellow and dark bands on labials. Two orangish-brown postorbital streaks terminating anterior to forelimb insertions and one suborbital streak extending onto throat. A single black ocellus with a margin of orangish scales on neck. Dorsum with five light tan vertebral blotches from neck to tail base, orangish-brown blotches interspersed with smaller yellowish-grey spots on rest of dorsum and flank. Dorsum of limbs more muted than back, digits with alternating dark and light bands. Tail with five indistinct dark brown bands with a brown regenerated tail tip. Venter off-white, with black speckles under limbs and throat.
Colouration in life:
Mensural, meristic and additional character state data for the type series is given in Tables
Paratype series:
Habitats of the new species in the vicinity of the type localities:
NRC-AA-1213 (AK 699), adult male, near Agaya Gangai waterfalls (
NRC-AA-1215 (AK 267), NRC-AA-1214 (AK 268), adult males, same collection data as holotype; NRC-AA-1216 (AK 269), NRC-AA-1217 (AK 270) adult males, NRC-AA-1218 (AK 700), adult female, from near Arappaleeswarar temple (
The specific epithet is for the type locality of the new species, the Agaya Gangai Waterfalls, and is used as a noun in apposition.
Agaya Gangai dwarf gecko.
A small-sized
10–12 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body (versus eight or nine rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body in
Adult male in good state of preservation except regenerated portion of the tail tip slightly bent towards right, small skin injury left of sternum, and claw on 2nd digit of left foot missing (Fig.
Body relatively slender (
Scales on palms and soles granular, smooth, rounded, and flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogeneous in shape and size; mixture of small granular, weakly keeled, imbricate scales which are twice the size of granules on the body dorsum, largest on anterolateral aspect of the hands and feet; posterolateral aspect of limbs with small weakly keeled to smooth granular scales; ventral aspect of forelimbs with small, smooth, subimbricate scales, larger on lower arm than upper arm; ventral aspect of hindlimb with enlarged, smooth, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger than body ventrals (Fig.
Tail original except tip (3.1 mm) which is regenerated, entire, subcylindrical, slender, marginally longer than snout-vent length (
Dorsum of head, body, and tail base orange, limbs brown. Head with numerous light grey blotches and some black spots, light grey and dark bands on labials. Two dark postorbital streaks flanked by slightly broader light grey streaks terminating anterior to forelimb insertion. A single central black dorsal ocellus on neck and one on occiput separated by a larger light grey blotch, ocellus on neck flanked anteriorly on each side by a slightly larger ocellus, ocellus on occiput flanked one each side by a smaller ocellus; all ocelli with a fine orange margin. Dorsum with six light grey vertebral blotches from forelimb insertions to tail base, interspersed with smaller light-grey spots (sometimes forming streaks) and fine black spots on rest of dorsum and flank. Dorsum of limbs more muted than back, digits with alternating dark and light bands. Tail with seven or eight alternating light grey and black bands with an orange regenerated tip. Venter off-white with black speckles, two indistinct pairs of streaks on throat.
Mensural, meristic and additional character state data for the type series is given in Tables
Mensural (mm) data for the type series of
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31.2 | 30.0 | 30.2 | 31.8 | 29.3 | 29.8 | 31.7 | 31.5 | 30.4 |
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37.0 | 14.9* | 12.2* | 20.6* | 34.0 | 36.5 | 19.0* | 41.1 | 21.3 |
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3.0 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
LAL | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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5.6 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.8 |
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12.6 | 12.4 | 12 | 12.7 | 11.8 | 12.4 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 12.3 |
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3.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
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6.5 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 5.3 | 6.2 |
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8.0 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 |
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5.4 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.8 |
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3.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
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1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
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2.4 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
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4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
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1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
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1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
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0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
Meristic data for the type series of
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10&10 | 9&8 | 8&9 | 9&9 | 8&8 | 8&9 | 9&8 | 8&9 | 9&10 | |
9&10 | 8&8 | 6&7 | 8&9 | 7&7 | 7&8 | 8&7 | 8&8 | 7&8 | |
6&6 | 5&5 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 6&6 | |
5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 6&6 | 5&5 | 5&6 | 4&5 | 6&6 | 5&6 | |
15&14 | 15&16 | 14&15 | 14*&14* | 16&16 | 16&16 | / | 14&14 | 18&18 | |
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10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 |
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32 | 28 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 34 |
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110 | 115 | 110 | 114 | 118 | 110 | 106 | 120 | 113 |
9&9 | 9&9 | 10&6* | 9&9 | 10&10 | 11&11 | 10&10 | 11&11 | 11&10 | |
14&15 | 16&15 | 17&16 | 15&14 | 16&15 | 16&16 | 15&15 | 16&16 | 15&15 | |
10&10 | 9&10 | 10&10 | 9&9 | 9&10 | 12&12 | 10&10 | 10&10 | 9&10 | |
19&19 | 20&20 | 19&20 | 17&17 | 20&20 | 20&20 | 14*&18 | 18&19 | 19&19 | |
17&16 | 17&19 | 18&17 | 16&16 | 17&17 | 18&18 | 17&15 | 18&18 | 17&17 | |
1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | abs. | abs. | 1&1 | abs. | |
SBPP | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | abs. | 1 | abs. |
8&8 | 10&10 | 9&8 | 9&9 | 8&8 | abs. | abs. | 9&8 | abs. | |
5&5 | 4&4 | 5&5 | 5&4 | 4&4 | abs. | abs. | 5&5 | abs. | |
SBFP | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. |
1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 |
Additional morphological character states evaluation for the type series of
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Anterior extra-brillar fringe scales enlarged (1) or not enlarged (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ventral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gular scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pectoral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Precloacal pores continuous (1) or separated (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | abs. | abs. | 0 | abs. |
Precloacal pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | abs. | 1 | abs. |
femoral pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | abs. | 1 | abs. |
Dorsal pholidosis homogeneous (1) or heterogeneous (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dorsal tubercles keeled (1) or not keeled (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tubercles linearly arranged (1) or more random (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Spine-like scales on flank present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lateral caudal furrows present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Subcaudals keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Single median row of keeled subcaudals (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Caudal tubercles encircle tail (1) or not (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged median subcaudal scale row (1) or not (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged femoral scales present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Subtibial scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Occipital ocellus present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ocelli anterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) |
Ocelli posterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Original tail banded (1) or not (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
NRC-AA-1222 (AK 688), adult male, near Tree view point, (
NRC-AA-1224 (AK 285), NRC-AA-1225 (AK 286), adult males, same locality data as holotype; NRC-AA-1223 (AK 284), NRC-AA-1226 (AK 684), adult females (
The specific epithet is derived from the Greek phantastikós, alluding to the spectacular colouration of the new species.
Fantastic dwarf gecko.
A small-sized
11–13 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body (versus eight or nine rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body in
Adult male in good state of preservation except tail tip marginally bent towards right (Fig.
Body relatively slender (
Scales on palms and soles granular, smooth, subcircular, and flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogeneous in shape and size; mixture of small granular, weakly keeled, imbricate scales which are twice the size of granules on the body dorsum, largest on anterolateral aspect of the hands and feet; posterolateral aspect of limbs with small weakly keeled to smooth granular scales; scales on upper hand and thigh larger than lower hand and shank respectively; ventral aspect of forelimbs with small, smooth, subimbricate scales, larger on lower arm than upper arm; ventral aspect of hindlimb with enlarged, smooth, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger than body ventrals (Fig.
Tail half original half regenerated, entire, subcylindrical, slender, marginally longer than snout-vent length (
Dorsum of head, body, limbs and tail base reddish. Head with numerous yellow spots, yellow and dark bands on labials, postorbital streaks indistinct. A single central ocellus on neck, flanked posteriorly by a pair of much larger squarish blotches and anteriorly by a pair of subequal squarish blotches, indistinct spot on occiput; all ocelli black with a fine orange and diffuse yellow margin. Dorsum mottled with numerous small yellow spots some of which form an indistinct vertebral line and fine black spots. Dorsum of limbs more muted than back with indistinct yellow bands, digits with alternating dark and light bands. Tail with four black and three light grey bands with an orange regenerated tip. Venter off-white with black speckles, two distinct pairs of black streaks on throat.
Mensural, meristic and additional character state data for the type series is given in Tables
Mensural (mm) data for the type series of
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31.0 | 31.9 | 32.5 | 30.5 | 32.1 | 28.4 | 31.9 | 31.4 |
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36.0 | 12.9* | 10.3* | 9.5* | 19.5* | 28.5 | 36.1 | 38.4 |
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3.1 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
LAL | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
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5.4 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
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12.3 | 13.6 | 12.9 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 12.1 | 13.8 | 12.8 |
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3.1 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
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5.6 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 6.5 |
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7.7 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 7.6 |
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5.1 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 |
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3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
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1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
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2.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
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3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
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3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
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1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
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1.4 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
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0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
Upper postmentals marginally in contact with each other below mental in NRC-AA-1224; upper postmentals separated from each other below mental by a single median enlarged chin shields in NRC-AA-1227 and NRC-AA-1228; upper postmentals bordered by mental, infralabial I, outer postmental, and by a single large chin scale on either side in NRC-AA-1223, NRC-AA-1225, NRC-AA-1226, and NRC-AA-1229. Outer postmental bordered by inner postmental, infralabials I & II in all types, additionally, four chin scales on either side in NRC-AA-1223, NRC-AA-1226, NRC-AA-1228, five chin scales on right in NRC-AA-1227, and five chin scales on left and four on right side in NRC-AA-1229; outer postmental separated from each other medially by two enlarged chin scales in NRC-AA-1223, NRC-AA-1225, NRC-AA-1226, and NRC-AA-1229. Two paratypes — NRC-AA-1228 and NRC-AA-1229 with original and complete tails, slightly longer than body (
Meristic data for the type series of
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8&9 | 9&8 | 8&8 | 8&8 | 9&8 | 9&10 | 8&9 | 9&9 | |
8&8 | 9&8 | 7&7 | 8&8 | 8&7 | 8&9 | 7&8 | 7&7 | |
6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 5&5 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | |
6&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 6&6 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&6 | |
17&17 | 16&16 | 16&16 | 16&17 | 16&16 | / | 15&15 | 17&17 | |
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12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 |
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30 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 28 |
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113 | 110 | 116 | 113 | 117 | 120 | 114 | 112 |
9&8 | 8&8 | 9&9 | 8&8 | 9&10 | 9&9 | 9&9 | 9&9 | |
15&15 | 15&14 | 14&15 | 14&14 | 16&16 | 16&16 | 14&15 | 15&15 | |
9&9 | 8&9 | 9&9 | 9&9 | 9&9 | 10&10 | 10&10 | 9&10 | |
19&18 | 17&16 | 19&19 | 19&19 | 18&18 | 20&19 | 18&18 | 19&17 | |
16&17 | 15&15 | 16&16 | 16&16 | 16&16 | 18&18 | 17&17 | 16&17 | |
1&1 | abs. | 2&2 | 1&1 | abs. | 1&1 | abs. | 1&1 | |
SBPP | 1 | abs. | 1 | 2 | abs. | 2 | abs. | 2 |
8&8 | abs. | 7&8 | 8&8 | abs. | 9&9 | abs. | 8&9 | |
5&4 | abs. | 5&5 | 5&5 | abs. | 5&5 | abs. | 4&4 | |
SBFP | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. |
1&1 | 0&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 |
Additional morphological character states evaluation for the type series of
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Anterior extra-brillar fringe scales enlarged (1) or not enlarged (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ventral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gular scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pectoral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Precloacal pores continuous (1) or separated (0) | 0 | abs. | 0 | 0 | abs. | 0 | abs. | 0 |
Precloacal pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | abs. | 1 | 0 | abs. | 0 | abs. | 1 |
femoral pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | abs. | 1 | abs. | 1 |
Dorsal pholidosis homogeneous (1) or heterogeneous (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dorsal tubercles keeled (1) or not keeled (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tubercles linearly arranged (1) or more random (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Spine-like scales on flank present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lateral caudal furrows present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | / | / | / | 1 | / | 0 | 1 |
Subcaudals keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | / | / | 0 | / | 0 | 0 |
Single median row of keeled subcaudals (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | / | / | 0 | / | 0 | 0 |
Caudal tubercles encircle tail (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | / | 1 | / | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged median subcaudal scale row (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | / | 1 | / | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged femoral scales present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Subtibial scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Occipital ocellus (present or absent) | P | P | A | A | P | P | A | P |
Ocelli anterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) |
Ocelli posterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) |
Original tail banded (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
NRC-AA-1230 (AK 711), adult male, from near Mangalam waterfalls, (
NRC-AA-1231 (AK 708), NRC-AA-1232 (AK 709), adult males, same data as holotype; NRC-AA-1233 (AK 712), adult male, NRC-AA-1234 (AK 713), adult female, from near Shri Kaliyamman temple (
The specific epithet is a toponym for the Pachaimalai hills in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu, the type and currently only known locality for this species.
Pachaimalai dwarf gecko.
A small-sized
Adult male in good state of preservation except tail slightly bent towards left (Fig.
Body relatively slender (
Scales on palms and soles granular, smooth, rounded, and flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogeneous in shape and size; mixture of small granular, weakly keeled, imbricate scales which are twice the size of granules on the body dorsum, largest on anterolateral aspect of the hands and feet; posterolateral aspect of limbs with small weakly keeled to smooth granular scales; ventral aspect of forelimbs with small, smooth, subimbricate scales, larger on lower arm than upper arm; ventral aspect of hindlimb with enlarged, smooth, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger than body ventrals (Fig.
Tail original, entire, subcylindrical, slender, marginally longer than snout-vent length (
Dorsum of head, body, limbs and tail base orange-brown. Head with numerous yellow blotches and some black spots, yellow and dark bands on labials. Three dark postorbital streaks, all terminating anterior to forelimb insertions, suborbital streak continues onto throat. A large central black dorsal ocellus on neck flanked anteriorly and posteriorly on each side by elongate dark ocelli, smaller ocellus on occiput flanked on each side by a smaller ocellus; approximately three rows of three smaller dark ocelli; all ocelli with a diffuse orange margin. Dorsum mottled with smaller light-grey spots and fine black spots. Dorsum of limbs more muted than back, digits with alternating dark and light bands. Tail with seven or eight alternating light grey and black bands with an orange regenerated tip. Venter off-white with black speckles, two distinct pairs of black streaks on throat.
Mensural, meristic and additional character state data for the type series is given in Tables
Mensural (mm) data for the type series of
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28.8 | 30.7 | 28.6 | 31.5 | 33.6 | 30.6 | 30.3 | 31.9 |
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32.2 | 8.5* | 32.0 | 40.7 | 36.3 | 40.0 | 34.0 | 42.6 |
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2.7 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
LAL | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
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5.1 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.4 |
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11.5 | 11.7 | 10.8 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 13 | 12 | 13.3 |
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3.0 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
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5.4 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 6.3 | 6.4 |
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7.0 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 8.0 |
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4.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.2 |
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3.2 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
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1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
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2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
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3.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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2.7 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
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0.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
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1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 |
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0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Paratype series:
Meristic data for the type series of
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8&8 | 9&8 | 8&8 | 8&8 | 9&8 | 8&8 | 8&8 | 8&8 | |
7&7 | 7&6 | 7&8 | 8&7 | 8&7 | 7&7 | 7&8 | 7&7 | |
6&6 | 6&6 | 6&7 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&5 | 6&6 | 6&6 | |
5&5 | 5&5 | 5&6 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | |
14&16 | 15&17 | 13*&15 | 15&14 | 13&13 | 16&14 | 16&16 | 15&14 | |
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11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
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31 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 33 |
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115 | 112 | 118 | 113 | 125 | 117 | 124 | 118 |
9&10 | 10&10 | 10&10 | 10&10 | 9&10 | 10&10 | 10&10 | 11&10 | |
15&15 | 17&18 | 16&15 | 16&16 | 15&16 | 17&17 | 17&18 | 17&16 | |
9&9 | 10&10 | 9&10 | 10&10 | 10&9 | 10&10 | 10&8* | 12&11 | |
19&18 | 22&22 | 19&19 | 18&18 | 20&* | 21&21 | 22&21 | 21&22 | |
18&17 | 18&19 | 18&19 | 18&17 | 18&18 | 20&19 | 18&17 | 18&19 | |
3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
SBPP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
10&10 | 9&9 | 7&7 | 8&7 | 0 | 8&8 | 10&10 | 9&11 | |
5&4 | 5&4 | 7&7 | 6&6 | 0 | 7&7 | 5&6 | 7&6 | |
SBFP | A | A | A | A | 0 | A | A | A |
1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 |
Additional morphological character states evaluation for the type series of
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Anterior extra-brillar fringe scales enlarged (1) or not enlarged (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ventral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gular scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pectoral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Precloacal pores continuous (1) or separated (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Precloacal pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
femoral pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Dorsal pholidosis homogeneous (1) or heterogeneous (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dorsal tubercles keeled (1) or not keeled (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tubercles linearly arranged (1) or more random (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Spine-like scales on flank present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lateral caudal furrows present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Subcaudals keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Single median row of keeled subcaudals (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Caudal tubercles encircle tail (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged median subcaudal scale row (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged femoral scales present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Subtibial scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Occipital ocellus present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ocelli anterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (3) | 1 (2*) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) | 1 (3) |
Ocelli posterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (+3) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 (2) | 1 (2) |
Original tail banded (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
NRC-AA-1238 (AK 566), adult male, from near Sri Salaipaarai Muniappan Temple, Yercaud, in the Shevaroy hill range (
NRC-AA-1246 (AK 567), adult male, NRC-AA-1247 (AK 568), adult female, same data as holotype; NRC-AA-1239 (AK 208), NRC-AA-1240 (AK 209), NRC-AA-1241 (AK 212) adult males, from Yercaud Ghat, in the Shevaroy hill range (
The specific epithet is from the Sanskrit rudhira which means blood, alluding to the blood-red colouration of this beautiful species, and is used as a noun in apposition.
Scarlet dwarf gecko.
A small-sized
Adult male in good state of preservation except tail tip slightly bend towards left, longitudinal skin fold on vertebral region between limb insertions (Fig.
Body relatively slender (
Scales on palm and soles granular, smooth, subcircular, subimbricate and flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogeneous in shape and size; mixture of small granular, weakly keeled, imbricate scales which are twice the size of granules on the body dorsum, largest on anterolateral aspect of the hands and feet; posterolateral aspect of limbs with small weakly keeled to smooth granular scales; scales on lower arm and shank small, subimbricate, and keeled; ventral aspect of forelimbs with small, smooth, subimbricate scales, larger on lower arm than upper arm; ventral aspect of hindlimb with enlarged, smooth, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger than body ventrals (Fig.
Tail original except tip (5.1 mm) which is regenerated, entire, subcylindrical, slender, slightly longer than snout-vent length (
Dorsum of head, body, limbs and tail base orange. Head with numerous light grey and yellow blotches and fine black spots, light grey and dark bands on labials; indistinct grey postorbital streaks. A single central black dorsal ocellus on neck and a smaller one on occiput separated by a larger light grey blotch, both ocelli with an orange margin. Dorsum with numerous light-grey spots and fine black spots and six light grey vertebral blotches from forelimb insertions to tail base. Dorsum of limbs with yellow reticulation, digits with alternating dark and light bands. Tail grey with an orange regenerated tip. Venter off-white with black speckles, margin of throat strongly marked.
Mensural, meristic and additional character state data for the type series is given in Tables
Mensural (mm) data for the type series of
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32.3 | 32.9 | 32.1 | 30.5 | 27.9 | 33.8 | 31.5 | 33.5 | 33.7 | 29.8 |
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42.3 | 2.2* | 12.1* | 19.7* | 16.7* | 35.1 | 41.8 | 43.5 | 43.8 | 35.6 |
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3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.7 |
LAL | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.1 |
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5.9 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.1 |
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12.5 | 12.6 | 12.9 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 12.4 |
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3.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
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6.4 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
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8.0 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.0 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
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5.3 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
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3.8 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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1.6 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
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2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
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4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
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3.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3 | 2.9 |
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1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
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1.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
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0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Meristic data for the type series of
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10&11 | 7&9 | 9&9 | 9&10 | 7&7 | 10&10 | 9&8 | 10&10 | 10&9 | 8&8 | |
8&9 | 7&7 | 9&8 | 8&8 | 6&7 | 8&10 | 7&7 | 10&7 | 8&9 | 7&6 | |
6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 6&6 | 7&7 | 6&6 | |
5&5 | 5&5 | 5&5 | 5&6 | 6&5 | 5&6 | 5&6 | 6&6 | 5&5 | 5&5 | |
14&15 | 13&14 | 14&14 | 13&14 | 15&14 | 14&14 | 13&14 | 14&14 | 17&15 | 14&15 | |
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12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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31 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 |
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115 | 112 | 101 | 118 | 110 | 121 | 116 | 116 | 118 | 115 |
11&10 | 9&9 | 9&9 | 10&10 | 9&9 | 11&11 | 9&9 | 10&10 | 8&8 | 10&10 | |
16&16 | 15&15 | 15&4* | 17&16 | 15&15 | 17&16 | 14&15 | 15&16 | 16&15 | 16&16 | |
10&10 | 2*&11 | 10&10 | 10&9 | 9&9 | 11&10 | 9&10 | 10&11 | 8&8 | 10&10 | |
21&21 | 19&20 | 10*&19 | 19&19 | 19&20 | 19&20 | 17&17 | 19&20 | 17&18 | 20&20 | |
19&17 | 18&19 | 18&18 | 19&0* | 17&18 | 20&19 | 18&17 | 19&19 | 16&17 | 18&17 | |
2&2 | 2&2 | 2&2 | 3&3 | abs. | 2&2 | 2&2 | 2&2 | 2&2 | abs. | |
SBPP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | abs. |
9&9 | 8&8 | 6&6 | 7&7 | abs. | 8&8 | 7&7 | 8&7 | 7&7 | abs. | |
4&4 | 4&4 | 5&4 | 5&5 | abs. | 5&4 | 5&4 | 5&5 | 5&5 | abs. | |
SBFP | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. | abs. |
1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 | 1&1 |
Additional morphological character states evaluation for the type series of
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Anterior extra-brillar fringe scales enlarged (1) or not enlarged (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Ventral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gular scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pectoral scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Precloacal pores continuous (1) or separated (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | abs. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | abs. |
Precloacal pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. |
femoral pores elongate (1) or round (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | abs. |
Dorsal pholidosis homogeneous (1) or heterogeneous (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dorsal tubercles keeled (1) or not keeled (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tubercles linearly arranged (1) or more random (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Spine-like scales on flank present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lateral caudal furrows present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Subcaudals keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | / | 0 | / | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Single median row of keeled subcaudals (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | / | / | 0 | / | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Caudal tubercles encircle tail (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged median subcaudal scale row (1) or not (0) | 1 | / | / | 1 | / | / | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Enlarged femoral scales present (1) or absent (0) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Subtibial scales keeled (1) or smooth (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Occipital ocellus present (1) or absent (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P | P | P |
Ocelli anterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) |
Ocelli posterior of the shoulder present (1) or absent (0) & number | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Original tail banded (1) or not (0) | 0 | / | 1 | 0 | / | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
The description of these five new species from the Shevaroy Group of hills in southern India brings the number of
Potential explanations for the high level of diversity and microendemism seen in the
All the species of the
The ancestral state for colour pattern of the forebody (in males) appears to be a single, central ocellus on the neck (seen in
Other geckos within this landscape show contrasting patterns of distribution —
These new species join a large proportion of gekkonid species known only from their type localities (23 %,
We are thankful to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department for the necessary permits to carry out this study (permit no. 53/2018). We thank Teja Bhargava (former DFO, Jawadhu) for his help and co-ordination throughout fieldwork. Fieldwork assistance was provided by Swapnil Pawar, Vaibhav Patil, Nikhil Gaitonde, Anuradha Batabyal, Varad Giri, Aniruddha Dutta-Roy, Chaitanya R., Satpal Gangalmale and Vivek Waghe. Tarun Karmakar (
Material examined.
Institutional abbreviations are as follows: National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru (