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75
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Phyllomedusa 13(2):75–90, 2014
© 2014 Departamento de Ciências Biológicas - ESALQ - USP
ISSN 1519-1397 (print) / ISSN 2316-9079 (online)
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v13i2p75-90
Received 17 October 2014.
Accepted 15 December 2014.
Distributed December 2014.
A new species of lizard of the genus Eublepharis
(Squamata: Eublepharidae) from India
Zeeshan A. Mirza1, Rajesh V. Sanap1, David Raju2, Atish Gawai3, and Prathamesh Ghadekar4
1 Biodiversity Lab, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065,
Karnataka, India. E-mail: snakeszeeshan@gmail.com.
2 Valiyaparampil House, Kuzhimattom. PO Kottayam 686533, Kerala, India.
3 Near J. V. Mehta high school behind Ambika Krida Mandal, Taluka Khamgaon, District Buldana, Maharashtra, India.
4 G/6 Pancharatna, Manjarli, Badlapur (West), District Thane, Thane 421503, Maharashtra, India.
Abstract
A new species of lizard of the genus Eublepharis (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from
India. We describe here a new species of the genus from the Satpura Hills in
central India. The new species closely resembles , but can be differentiated from
it by the following suite of characters: SVL 125–130 mm; dome shaped tubercles lacking
keels arranged in ~20 rows on dorsum, inter-tubercular space greater than width of a
tubercle; 46–48 ocular fringe scales, three pale bands between the nuchal loop and caudal
constriction; medial subdigital lamellae smooth; 13–14 preanal pores, which may be
interrupted medially by a single poreless scale. Description of the new species sheds light
on the limited knowledge of
species of the genus .
Keywords:
description, taxonomy.
Resumo
Uma nova espécie de lagarto do gênero Eublepharis (Squamata: Eublepharidae) da Índia.
Descrevemos aqui uma nova espécie de lagarto do gênero das Montanhas Satpura, Índia
central. A nova espécie assemelha-se intimamente a , mas pode ser distinguida desta pelo
seguinte conjunto de caracteres: SVL 125–130 mm; tubérculos em forma de domo, sem quilhas,
subdigitais mediais lisas; 13–14 poros pré-anais, que podem estar interrompidos medialmente por
.
Palavras-chave:
Montanhas Satpura, taxonomia.
76
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Introduction
The old world lizard family Eublepharidae,
commonly known as leopard geckos, is
represented worldwide by six genera and 31
species (Grismer 1988, 1989, Uetz and Hošek
2014). Members of this family are secretive,
strictly nocturnal and occur in a variety of
habitats from arid to semi-arid ecosystems as
well as high elevation forests and have a disjunct
distribution in southwestern North America and
northern Central America, sub-Saharan Africa
and southern and eastern Asia (Grismer 1988,
1989, Jonniaux and Kumazawa 2008). In India,
eublepharids are represented by the single genus
Gray, 1827, comprising three
species which exhibit a disjunct distribution:
Blyth, 1854 in Rajasthan state and
Jammu and Kashmir state; Börner, 1974
in southern Gujarat state and North western
Maharashtra state and Gray, 1827
in Jharkhand state, West Bengal state and Odisha
state (Figure 1) (Smith 1935, Grismer 1988, Das
1997, Mirza and Upadhye 2010). Leopard
geckos are by far one of the least studied lizards
in India, especially in comparison with gekkonid
lizards. Monographic publications on these
lizards, supported by integrated morphological
and molecular data, are scarce, with the exception
of Smith (1935), Börner (1974, 1981), Sharma
(1980), Grismer (1988), Das (1997) and Mirza
and Upadhye (2010), which are based entirely
on morphology.
During a herpetological investigation of the
Satpura Hills, central India, specimens of a
sp. were collected which could not
be attributed to the three known species from
population as (Khujaria
1986, Chandra and Gupta 2005a,b); however,
doubts on the identity of this population were
raised by Mirza and Upadhye (2010). Detailed
comparison based on fresh collections and
available museum material concluded that the
disjunct population of from the
Satpura Hills belongs to a new species. The
present communication describes the Satpura
Hills population as a new species and also adds
morphology following Grismer (1988).
Materials and Methods
8% formalin and stored in 70% ethanol. The
largest male specimen from the series was
selected as the holotype and has been deposited
along with four paratypes in the collection of the
Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai. The
skull was removed from a non-type specimen;
tissue was dissolve in 4% potassium hydroxide,
followed by manual cleaning using forceps and
needles. This skull is deposited in the collection
of BNHS. A radiograph of the holotype was
taken with a SkanrayTM Mobile X-ray at 40kV
and 3.0mAs to obtain details of number of
vertebrae and phalanges.
The following measurements were taken
with digital calipers (to the nearest 0.1 mm):
snout-vent length (SVL; from tip of snout to
vent), trunk length (TRL; distance from axilla to
groin measured from posterior edge of forelimb
insertion to anterior edge of hind-limb insertion),
body width (BW; maximum width of body), crus
length (CL; from base of heel to knee); tail
length (TL; from vent to tip of tail), tail width
(TW; measured at widest point of tail); head
length (HL; distance between retroarticular
process of jaw and snout-tip), head width (HW;
maximum width of head), head height (HH;
maximum height of head, from occiput to
underside of jaws), ear length (EL; longest
diameter of ear); forearm length (FL; from base
of palm to elbow); orbital diameter (OD; greatest
diameter of orbit), nares to eye distance (NE;
distance between anteriormost point of eye and
nostril), snout to eye distance (SE; distance
between anteriormost point of eye and tip of
snout), eye to ear distance (EE; distance from
anterior edge of ear opening to posterior corner
of eye), internarial distance (IN; distance
between nares), interorbital distance (IO; shortest
et al.
77
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Figure 1. Map of the Indian subcontinent showing distribution of members of the genus Eublepharis: red - E. macu-
larius, blue - E. fuscus, white - Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov., yellow - E. hardwickii. Modified after
Grismer (1988).
distance between left and right supraciliary scale
rows), pre-cloacal pores (PP), supralabials (SL),
infralabials (IL), lamellae (MLam; lamellae on
manus, Plam; lamellae on pes); left (L), right (R).
Interorbital scale count includes small gra nular
scales and excludes intermixed tubercles. Scale
counts and external observations of morphology
were made using an OlympusTMSZ40 dissecting
microscope. Institutional acronyms used in the
manuscripts are as follows: BNHS: Bombay
Natural History Society, Mumbai; NCBS:
National Centre for Biological Sciences, national
collection research facility, Bangalore; ZSIK:
Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata; CAS:
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco;
ZIL: Zoological Institute, Academy of Sciences,
St. Petersburg; ZSIJ: Zoological Survey of India,
Jabalpur. The LSID for this publication is
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D8432AE7-351F-473F-
A067-D6DC581C10AF. Morphological details
for congeners were derived from specimens listed
in Appendix I and from the following publications:
Eublepharis
78
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Smith (1935), Grismer (1988, 1991) and Mirza
and Upadhye (1988). Details of
and were derived from high
resolution images obtained from Noel Graham
(CAS herpetology section).
Results
Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov.
: Khujaria 1986;
Chandra and Gupta 2005a,b
sp.: Mirza and Upadhye 2010
(Figures 2–7, Figure 10F, Table 1)
—Adult male BNHS 2301,
Pachmarhi town, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Madhya
Pradesh state, India; collected by Rajesh Sanap,
Zeeshan Mirza and David Raju on 9 May 2014.
—Adult male BNHS 2302, adult
female BNHS 2303, same data as holotype;
juvenile male BNHS 2304, juvenile female
BNHS 2305, collected from Popatkhed,
Amravati district, Maharashtra state, India by
Krishna Khan, Atish Gawai and Kiran Bawaskar
on 14 April 2014.
—ZSIK 25321 & ZSIJ
V-3276a adult male, 3276b subadult, 3276c
juvenile from Bandhavgarth National Park,
Madhya Pradesh state, India; ZSIJ 1388, a
juvenile from Pachmarhi, Satpura Tiger Reserve,
Madhya Pradesh state, India. Skull NCBS
AG801 of a subadult male from Pachmarhi,
Satpura Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh state,
India.
—The new species is named after
the Satpura Hills in central India, where the type
locality is located.
—A medium sized species of
(maximum SVL 130 mm) differing
from congeners in the following suite of
characters: SVL 125–130 mm; dome shaped
tubercles lacking keels arranged in ~20 rows on
dorsum, inter-tubercular space more than width
of a tubercle; 46–48 ocular fringe scales, three
pale bands between the nuchal loop and caudal
constriction; median subdigital lamellae smooth;
13–14 preanal pores which may be interrupted
medially by a single poreless scale.
(Figures 2–5).—
Adult male . The holotype is in good
condition with a regenerated tail. SVL 126.3 mm
(Figure 3A,B). Head short (HL/SVL = 0.26),
moderately wide (HW/HL = 0.74), not strongly
depressed (HD/HL = 0.48) (Figure 4A,B),
distinct from neck. Loreal region slightly
short (SE/HL = 0.36); longer than eye diameter
(OD/SE = 0.55); scales on snout and canthus
rostralis heterogeneous (small granular scales
intermixed with large hexagonal scales), large,
unkeeled, juxtaposed; slightly larger than those
on forehead and interorbital region; occipital and
temporal region with much smaller, granular
scales intermixed with larger tubercles. Eye
small (OD/HL = 0.20); pupil vertical in life;
eyelid fringe with 48 scales. Ear opening deep,
oval in shape, small (EL/HL = 0.15); eye to ear
distance greater than diameter of eyes (EE/OD =
1.69). Rostral wider than long, divided by rostral
groove for more than half its length; supranasals
two, supra-prenasal one, one prenasal, four
postnasals and supralabial I surrounding nasal.
Supranasals separated by three internasals;
supralabial I in broad contact with nasal; two to
three rows of scales separate orbit from
supralabials. Mental enlarged, subtriangular,
wider than rostral and wider than long; one pair
of postmentals, large, subrectangular; bordered
by the mental, infralabial I and six scales larger
smooth and are slightly smaller than postmental
shield.
Supralabials to midorbital position 9,
supralabials to angle of jaws 10; infralabials to
angle of jaws 8; interorbital scale rows between
left and right superciliaries in front of the eye 22,
at midorbit 30. Body relatively slender, fairly
et al.
79
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
elongate (TRL/SVL = 0.49) without ventrolateral
folds. Distinct axillary groove present. Dorsal
scales on trunk subequal, granular, juxtaposed,
intermixed with large unkeeled dome shaped
tubercles arranged in ~20 rows. Inter-tubercular
space greater than width of a tubercle (Figure 4E).
Ventral scales larger than dorsal scales,
smooth, imbricate, slightly larger on abdomen
than on chest; midbody scale rows across belly
to lowest row of tubercles 22–25; gular region
with still smaller, juxtaposed, smooth scales. A
continuous series of fourteen precloacal pores,
femoral pores absent (Figure 3B).
Scales on palm and sole smooth; slightly
elongate on forelimb and dorsal aspect of
hindlimb, 3–4 times larger than dorsal granules,
keeled, imbricate; those on inner surface of
hindlimb slightly smaller, keeled. Fore and
hindlimbs relatively short, slender; forearm and
crus short (FL/SVL = 0.15; CL/SVL = 0.16);
digits elongate, clawed; subdigital lamellae
smooth, entire, unnotched; interdigital webbing
absent. Lamellae: MLam11–14–16–16–16 (left),
PLam 10–15–18–18–16 (left); relative length of
digits (measurements in mm): IV (3.4) > III (3.3)
=II (3.3) >V (2.0) > I (1.9) (left manus); IV (4.8)
> V (3.7) = III (3.7) > II (3.0) > I (2.2) (left pes)
(Figure 4C,D).
longer than snout-vent length (TL/SVL = 0.54),
nearly 75% of tail regenerated; regenerated
portion of the tail stouter than original tail; tail
base distinctly swollen when viewed ventrally; a
pair of post-cloacal spurs present on each side,
anterior spur large, conical, posterior spur half
the size of the anterior spur, dome shaped and
squarish scales, juxtaposed; ventral scales much
larger than dorsal scales, smooth, squarish in
shape. Regenerated portion of tail covered
dorsally with rectangular, convex scales. Original
tail with eight large, smooth, sub-conical
tubercles arranged in a transverse row in dorsal
and lateral surface of tail; those on the mid-
dorsum smaller and located on the posterior half
of each segment (Figure 3A,B).
—Phalangeal formulae 2-3-4-5-3
for manus and 2-3-4-5-4 for pes. Presacral
vertebrae 26, including two cervical vertebrae
lacking ribs. Pterygoid-palatine suture straight.
Supra-temporal bone small. Basioccipital bone
smooth, with a smooth rounded posterior margin,
longitudinally directed crest absent.
(Figure 3A,B).—
Dorsum brown with three pale bands. Pale bands
with brown spots and blotches. Head with
reticulations dorsally, limbs pale with brown
spots dorsally. A pale mid-dorsal vertebral stripe
running from the nape to the pale band at the
groin. Original tail brown with a few dark and
light patches which merge to give a diffused
reticulate appearance. Regenerated tail
background color black with pale reticulations
on dorsal surface. Venter straw color throughout,
chin with a few scattered light brown spots and a
mid-gular spotless band. Ventral aspect of
original tail with a pair of brown patches on their
lateral portion; venter of regenerated tail with
extension of dorsal reticulated pattern merging
into the mid-ventral unpatterned region.
—Coloration in life more
vivid than in preservative. Pale bands and
reticulations are yellow and the background
color is a much darker shade of brown (Figure
2).
—Measurements of holotype and
paratypes are in Table 1. In addition to
measurements, the paratypes differ from the
holotype as follows: male paratype BNHS 2304
has (i) a gap of a single non-pored scale in the
series of precloacal pores, (ii) supralabials 10–11
and infralabials 8–10, (iii) subdigital lamellae on
manus I 9–10, II 13–15, III 15–17, IV 15–18, V
12–16; on pes I 9–13, II 12–15, III 17–21, IV
18–22, V 16–2; juvenile paratypes BNHS 2304
and BNHS 2305 lack spots and reticulation as in
the adults (Figures 6, 7B, 10F); female paratypes
possess three post-cloacal spurs as opposed to
two in the male holotype.
Eublepharis
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Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Figure 2. Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. holotype male BNHS 2301 in life. Photo by Zeeshan A. Mirza.
Figure 3. Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. holotype male BNHS 2301, (A) dorsal view, (B) ventral view. Scale bar
20 mm.
et al.
A
B
mm
201
mm
201
81
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
—The
holotype along with the two paratypes from
Madhya Pradesh were collected during night
walks along rocky outcrops. The holotype was
found actively moving along boulders near a dry
streambed. The female paratype BNHS 2303
was taken from a burrow under a boulder along
a road. In addition to the type specimens, ten
other individuals were observed during the
survey. Most individuals were seen moving near
crevices or burrows and would retreat with the
Figure 4. Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. holotype, male BNHS 2301, (A) lateral view of head, (B) ventral view of
head, (C) ventral view of manus, (D) ventral view of pes, (E) dorsal view of trunk. Scale bar 10 mm.
slightest disturbance. A sub-adult male was
offered scorpion (sp.) and grasshoppers
in captivity, which were readily accepted. The
new species, like other members of the genus,
are strictly nocturnal and are secretive in nature.
Very few residents in the vicinity of the type
locality are aware of the presence of such a
species. Due to its conspicuous coloration, this
species is regarded as poisonous and is often
killed when encountered by locals. The new
species is presently known from Pachmarhi
Eublepharis
A
C
B
DE
82
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Figure 5. Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. holotype, male
BNHS 2301, ventral view of cloacal region
showing pre-cloacal pores. Scale bar 10 mm.
Figure 6. Dorsal view of paratypes of Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. Scale bar 50 mm.
(Figure 8A) and surrounding areas in Satpura
Tiger Reserve (22.493853o N, 78.194290o E),
Bhopal (23.257516o N, 77.427313o E), Melghat
Tiger Reserve (21.330843o N, 77.089126o E;
Figure 8B), Pench Tiger Reserve (21.769338o N,
79.304909o E), Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
(23.671783o N, 81.038122o E) and Jabalpur
(23.092208o N, 79.902936o E). Elevation ranges
from 390 to 1350m. Based on the present known
localities and based on exploratory distribution
analysis using Maxent the new species appears
to be distributed in the Satpura and Vindhya hill
ranges (Figure 9). Forest types at the known
localities are Southern moist mixed deciduous
forest, Southern dry mixed deciduous forest and
Dry peninsular sal forest; the major species are
, ,
, ,
and (Champion and Seth
2005).
et al.
83
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Figure 7. Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. (A) paratype, female BNHS 2303 in life, (B) paratype, juvenile male BNHS
2304 in life. Photos: (A) Zeeshan Mirza, (B) Rajesh Sanap.
— sp.
nov. can be differentiated from its congeners
based on differing or non-overlapping characters
as follows: SVL 125–130 mm (vs.
SVL 170 mm, SVL 252 mm,
SVL 150 mm); dorsal tubercles
dome shaped, unkeeled, not depressed (vs. feebly
keeled depressed tubercles in , tubercles
keeled in
in contact with one another in );
three pale bands between the nuchal loop and
caudal constriction (vs. two pale bands in
and ); subdigital lamellae
smooth (vs. subdigital lamellae tuberculate in
and rectangular (vs. circular scales in
, and );
eyelid fringe scales 45–48 (vs. 54–55 in
); adult background color brown with
pale yellow bands bearing reticulations on head
and trunk (vs. dark brown spots on a pale
background lacking reticulations in ,
Eublepharis
A
B
84
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Figure 8. Habitat at the type locality in the Satpura Tiger Reserve (A), and the Melghat Tiger Reserve (B). Photos: (A)
David Raju, (B) Vikram Vyawhare.
Figure 9. Map showing type locality and distribution of Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. Type locality indicated by a
red solid star. Inset map shows the known localities in black circles.
adults with alternating dark and pale bands lacking
spots or reticulations in ) (Figure
10). sp. nov. further
differs from in having a straight
pterygoid-palatine suture (vs. V-shaped in
); from by the presence
of a supratemporal bone (vs. absent in
); from , and
in having a smooth basioccipital
bone lacking a longitudinally directed crest (vs.
with a crest in , and
) and having a smooth rounded
posterior margin (vs. a sharp transverse ridge in
).
et al.
AB
85
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Figure 10. Coloration and markings of Eublepharis spp. in life. (A) Adult E. macularius, (B) adult E. angramainyu, (C)
adult E. fuscus, (D) juvenile E. hardwickii, (E) juvenile E. fuscus, (F) juvenile E. satpuraensis sp. nov. Photos:
(A, B) Barbod Safaei, (C) Zeeshan Mirza, (D) Vivek Sarkar, (E) Raman Upadhye, (F) Krishna Khan.
Discussion
Despite advances in molecular phylogenetics
of major saurian groups, relationship among
members of the genus remains
unresolved with the exception of work by
Grismer (1988, 1991), Ota (1999) and
Jonniaux and Kumazawa (2008). However,
studies conducted by Ota (1999) and
Jonniaux and Kumazawa (2008) included only
known species of .
sp. nov. appears to be closely
related to in sharing similar tubercles,
reticulate body pattern and smooth digital
lamellae.
Eublepharis
A
C
E
B
D
F
86
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Specimens
Number
Holotype
BNHS 2301
Paratypes
BNHS 2302 BNHS 2303 BNHS 2304 BNHS 2305
Sex male male female male female
SVL 126.3 125.3 130.1 95.4 88.5
TRL 63.1 59.4 55.5 45.9 42.4
BW 23.9 21.7 21.2 14.4 15.0
CL 21.4 20.1 21.5 16.6 15.4
TL 68.59 (51.70**) 96.3 101.9 85.2 76.9
TW 15.1 10.0 8.1 6.4 6.5
HL 33.3 31.4 28.6 23.9 20.4
HW 24.9 22.0 22.8 15.9 15.9
HH 16.2 13.6 13.3 11.9 10.5
FL 19.5 17.8 17.7 14.4 12.3
OD 6.8 6.2 6.3 4.3 4.6
NE 7.7 9.0 8.6 7.4 7.3
SE 12.2 11.4 11.6 10.1 8.2
EE 11.6 10.5 10.3 8.7 7.8
EL 5.3 5.2 4.9 3.9 3.2
IN 4.0 4.6 5.1 5.1 4.6
IO 12.1 8.8 9.0 7.8 7.3
Lamellae
L Mlam 11-14-16-16-16 10-13-15-18-14 12-14-15-17-15 10-15-17-17-16 9-14-16-17-14
R Mlam 10-15-4*-15-15 9-13-17-17-12 10-14-15-16-14 10-14-16-17-16 10-14-16-15-15
L Plam 10-15-18-18-16 10-14-18-20-21 13-14-18-21-20 11-15-19-22-20 10-15-20-22-21
R Plam 6*-12-17-19-18 9-14-18-22-20 10-15-21-22-22 11-15-19-22-20 11-14-17-21-21
SL
L 10 10 11 10 10
R 10 10 10 10 10
IL
L 8 9 10 9 9
R 10 9 9 9 9
Pores L/R 14 13 - 13 -
Table 1. Morphometric and meristic data for the type series of Eublepharis satpuraensis sp. nov. All measurements in
mm; * indicates broken, ** indicates regenerated portion.
et al.
87
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Jonniaux and Kumazawa (2008) stated that
the lineage that gave rise to
evolved in Asian forests 100 MYA and likely
invaded India after the accretion of the Indian
plate to mainland Eurasia between 55–66 MYA
(Briggs 2003). As demonstrated by Jonniaux
and Kumazawa (2008), eublepharid radiation
moved from east to west, the lineage of the
genus invaded India and dispersed
westwards from forested areas to arid regions.
As understood by the distribution of extant
species, morphological characters (Grismer
1988) and available molecular data (Jonniaux
and Kumazawa 2008), we hypothesize that
shared a common ancestor with
other species of the genus, of which one lineage
gave rise to and the other to the
clade containing sp. nov.,
, , and
. However these results are
preliminary and must be tested using molecular
data. Furthermore, skull osteology was
determined from a single juvenile specimen and
needs additional material for consistency and
variation in characters.
sp. nov. has been referred to
as and/or by
previous workers (Khujaria 1986, Chandra and
Gupta 2005a,b). Specimens ZSIJ V-3276a-c
examined by Khujaria (1986) from Bandhavgarh
and ZSIJ 1388 by Chandra and Gupta (2005a,b)
from Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, attributed to
clearly show the presence of three
pale bands between the nuchal loop and caudal
constriction (vs. two in ), reticulate
pattern in adult specimens (reticulate patterns
absent in ), presence of dome
tubercles in ) which are diagnostic
characters of sp. nov. Although
has been included in the list of
reptiles of Madhya Pradesh (Chandra and Gupta
2005a,b), in light of the present study we
attribute all old records of to the
new species and remove it from the reptile list of
the state. It is likely that the new species may be
found in northern Chhattisgarh, western Bihar
and southern Uttar Pradesh in addition to the
present records from Madhya Pradesh and
northern Maharashtra and surveys in suitable
habitat must be conducted to evaluate its
presently assumed allopatric distribution.
Eublepharid lizards, commonly known as
‘leopard geckos’, are a major part of the reptile
pet trade and are sought after by many enthusiasts
and traders, although they remain poorly studied
in their natural habitat. Description of a new
species of eublepharid lizard from India
highlights the need for dedicated herpetofaunal
surveys throughout the country and especially of
hill ranges like the Satpura Hills, which have
been shown to be of great importance in
gap in the distribution of species in
eastern and western India. Regardless of its large
size, distinct markings and other morphological
characters, sp. nov. was wrongly
Chandra and Gupta 2005a,b); this shows the
need for a detailed revision of the genus
based on morphological and
molecular data.
The last decade has seen a sudden rise in the
number of publications on Indian herpetofauna,
largely concerned with the Western Ghats (Giri
and Bauer 2008, Giri . 2009, Mirza and
Sanap 2014, Mirza 2014). Description of a
new leopard gecko as well as of other reptiles
from India in the recent past highlights the poor
nature of herpetofaunal documentation in the
country. With respect to this, we advocate
dedicated herpetofaunal explorations throughout
the country to evaluate the diversity of reptiles in
India. Further dedicated herpetofaunal explo-
ration using an integrated taxonomic approach
will help elucidate the disjunct distribution of
eublepharids in India and may even perhaps
result in the discovery of additional undescribed
.
Eublepharis
88
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
Key to species of the genus Eublepharis
a single pale band between the nuchal loop and caudal constriction ..............................
1b. Dorsal tubercles small, keeled or smooth, not in contact; dorsal dark and pale
bands with reticulations or spots .......................................................................................................... 2
2a. Dorsal tubercles keeled; precloacal pores interrupted medially by
1–4 non-pored scales ......................................................................................................
2b. Dorsal tubercles smooth to feebly keeled; precloacal pores not interrupted medially ................. 3
3a. A single pale band between the nuchal loop and caudal constriction ..............................
3b. More than one pale band between the nuchal loop and caudal constriction ................................ 4
4a. Subdigital lamellae tuberculate ..................................................................................
4b. Subdigital lamellae smooth ............................................................................................................ 5
5a. Regenerated portion of tail with circular and slightly convex dorsal scales;
nuchal loop not reaching posterior edge of the eye .....................................................
5b. Regenerated portion of tail with rectangular and convex dorsal scales; nuchal
loop extending anteriorly to the eyes and along supralabials to snout tip ...................
Acknowledgments
We thank the Rufford Small Grant for
funding the project during which the new
species was found. Special thanks to the Forest
Department of Madhya Pradesh: Narendra
Kumar (PCCF, wildlife and Chief Wildlife
Warden), Dr. Suhas Kumar (APCCF wildlife),
R. P. Singh (Field Director, Satpura Tiger
Reserve) for necessary permissions to carry
out research in Madhya Pradesh. Hashim
Tyabji (Forsyth Lodge) for logistic support
and permission to conduction surveys on his
property. Rahul Khot (BNHS, Mumbai),
Director of ZSI (Kolkata), Kaushik Deuti
(ZSI, Kolkata), P. M. Sureshan (ZSI, Calicut)
and S. Sambath (ZSI, Jabalpur) helped with
access to specimens and registration of the
type specimens. We extend our deepest
gratitude to Krishna Khan and Kiran Bavaskar
Raman Upadhye for help with literature and
distribution data of . Raman
Upadhye, Vivek Sarkar, Krishna Khan, Vivek
Sharma and Barbod Safaei shared images of
species. Surya Ramachandran
Special thanks to Saunak Pal for reviewing the
Noel Graham provided images of specimens
of in the collection of the
California Academy of Science, San Francisco.
Lee Grismer and Aaron Bauer provided
valuable and inaccessible literature. The
comments from Stephen Mohany and two
anonymous reviewers.
et al.
89
Phyllomedusa - 13(2), December 2014
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Eublepharis
90
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Appendix I. Material examined.
Eublepharis angramainyu: CAS 86384 (holotype), Masjid-i-Suleiman and Batwand, Khuzistan Province, Iran.
Eublepharis fuscus: BNHS 1047 (neotype) male, Rajkot , Gujarat, India; BNHS 222 male, Khandesh, Maharashtra,
India; BNHS 222 male, Khandesh, Maharashtra, India; BNHS 224 male, Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra, India; BNHS 229
male, Pune, Maharashtra, India; BNHS 226 female, Rajkot, Kathiawar, Gujarat, India; BNHS 936 female, Pune,
Maharashtra, India. NCBS AG802, skull of adult male, from Dhule district, Maharashtra.
Eublepharis macularius: ZSIK 6224 (holotype) male, Punjab Salt Range, Pakistan; ZSIK 5840 male, Rajanpur,
Trans-Indus, Pakistan; ZSIK 5892 female, Karachi, Pakistan; ZSIK 5884 male, Sind, Pakistan; ZSIK 5958 male, Karachi,
Pakistan; BNHS 234 female, Fort Sandeman, Balochistan, Pakistan.
Eublepharis hardwickii: ZSIK 4121 male, Khurda, Odisha; ZSIK 23726 male, Odisha; BNHS227 female, Jaipur,
Rajasthan (Likely from Jaypore, Odisha); BNHS 855 male, Bara jamda, Singbhum, Jharkhand, India.
Eublepharis turcmenicus: CAS 184771, Ashgabad, Krasnovodsk Region, Turkmenistan.
et al.
