taxonID	type	description	language	source
9FBED2B10283548FB367379B21E149F0.taxon	description	Figs 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Tables 2, 3	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
9FBED2B10283548FB367379B21E149F0.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. A medium-sized Cyrtodactylus, snout to vent length up to 68.7 mm. Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; smooth granular scales intermixed with fairly regularly arranged rows of enlarged, feebly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles; a weak ventrolateral fold on lower flank; 18 – 20 rows of dorsal tubercles at midbody, 34 – 37 tubercles in paravertebral rows; ventral scales subequal from chest to vent, smooth, subcircular, and subimbricate with rounded end; 37 or 38 scales across belly at midbody, 79 – 86 longitudinal scales between axilla to groin, 167 – 184 longitudinal scales from mental to cloaca; subdigital scansors smooth, unnotched, and mostly entire; 14 or 13 lamellae under digit I of manus and 12 – 14 lamellae under digit I of pes, 16 – 18 lamellae under digit IV of manus and 18 – 21 lamellae under digit IV of pes; a series of seven or eight precloacal pore-bearing scales contiguous with nine or ten enlarged precloacal scales in males (n = 2); females lack pores but have 5 – 8 pitted homologous scales, and 9 – 12 enlarged precloacal scales (n = 2); dorsal scales on non-regenerated tail homogeneous, fairly regularly arranged, smooth, elongated, flattened, subimbricate, and larger than granular scales at dorsal midbody, gradually becoming larger posteriorly and dorsolaterally; a few scattered enlarged tubercles present on the tail base; subcaudal scales in median series smooth, variable in size and shape, and not enlarged; dorsal pattern of ~ 9 dark-brown, broken cross-bars, original tail bearing ten or 11 alternating dark and lighter bands.	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
9FBED2B10283548FB367379B21E149F0.taxon	description	Description of the holotype. Adult male in good state of preservation except tail bent towards left, and a 12.3 mm long incision in sternal region for tissue collection (Fig. 9 A – D). SVL 60.0 mm, head short (HL / SVL 0.26), wide (HW / HL 0.70), not strongly depressed (HD / HL 0.40), distinct from neck. Loreal region inflated, canthus rostralis indistinct. Snout half of head length (ES / HL 0.44), slightly> 1.5 × eye diameter (ES / ED 1.66); scales on snout and canthus rostralis circular or oval, subequal, smooth, much larger than those on forehead and interorbital region; scales on forehead similar to those on snout and canthus rostralis except slightly smaller; scales on interorbital region, occipital, and temporal region heterogeneous, composed of granular scales intermixed with enlarged, smooth, and rounded tubercles (Fig. 10 A). Eye small (ED / HL 0.27), with vertical pupil having crenulated margins; supraciliaries short, larger anteriorly; 17 interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal; 39 scale rows between left and right supraciliaries at mid-orbit (Fig. 10 A, C). Ear opening small, oval, deep (EL / HL 0.10); eye to ear distance slightly greater than diameter of eye (EE / ED 1.17) (Fig. 10 C). Rostral ~ 2 × wider (2.4 mm) than high (1.4 mm), incompletely divided dorsally by a strongly developed rostral groove for slightly less than half of its height; a single enlarged, roughly circular supranasal on each side,> 4 - 5 × the size of upper postnasal, separated from each other behind rostral by three much smaller internasal scales; rostral in contact with supralabial I, nostril and supranasal, and single internasal on either side; nostrils oval, surrounded by three postnasals, supranasal, rostral, and supralabial I on either side; three postnasals on either side, middle postnasal roughly oval, slightly larger than others; other postnasals roughly circular and subequal; two rows of scales separate orbit from supralabials (Fig. 10 C). Mental enlarged, subtriangular, wider (2.3 mm) than high (1.6 mm); two pairs of postmentals, inner pair rectangular, marginally longer (1.8 mm) than mental, in strong contact with each other below mental (0.9 mm); inner pair bordered by mental, infralabial I, outer postmental, and two slightly enlarged chin shields on left and three on right side; outer postmentals roughly rectangular, much smaller (0.8 mm) than inner pair, bordered by inner postmentals on either side, infralabials I and II on right and II on left side, and four chin shields on right and six on left side, five enlarged gular scales between left and right outer postmentals; all chin shields bordering postmentals somewhat protruding, subequal, subcircular, smooth, and much smaller than outermost postmentals; scales on rest of throat, granular, much smaller, smooth, and subcircular (Fig. 10 B). Infralabials bordered below by a row or two of slightly enlarged, much elongated scales, decreasing in size posteriorly. Eleven supralabials to angle of jaw and eight at midorbital position on either side; supralabial I largest, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly; ten infralabials to angle of jaw on left and nine on right side, and six infralabials at midorbital position on left and eight on right side; infralabial I largest, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly (Fig. 10 C). Body relatively slender (BW / AGL 0.42), trunk slightly less than half of SVL (AGL / SVL 0.44) with weak ventrolateral fold (Fig. 11 A – C). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; smooth granular scales intermixed with fairly regularly arranged rows of enlarged, feebly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles; granular scales gradually increasing in size towards each flank, largest on mid-flank; granular scales on occiput slightly smaller than paravertebral granular scales; enlarged tubercles in ~ 18 longitudinal rows at midbody; 34 tubercles in paravertebral rows (Fig. 11 A). Ventral scales much larger than granular scales on dorsum, subequal from chest to vent, and smooth, subcircular and subimbricate with rounded end; scales on precloacal region distinctly enlarged; midbody scale rows across belly 38; 177 scales from mental to anterior border of cloaca and 80 scales between limb insertions (Fig. 11 B). A continuous series of seven precloacal pores, femoral pores absent (Fig. 10 D). Scales on palm and soles, smooth, oval or rounded, and flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogenous; composed of slightly smaller, smooth granular scales intermixed with enlarged, weakly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles which are slightly larger on thigh and shank than lower arm, enlarged tubercles absent on the upper arm; scales on ventral aspect of upper arm smooth, granular, slightly smaller than granular scales on body dorsum, scales on ventral aspect of lower arm much larger than those on upper arm, smooth, subcircular, weakly conical to flattened, and subimbricate; ventral aspect of thigh and shank with enlarged, smooth, roughly rounded, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger and oval on the shank but otherwise similar in size to those on body ventrals (Fig. 9 A, B). Forelimbs and hindlimbs slightly long, slender (LAL / SVL 0.15; CL / SVL 0.18); digits long, with a strong, recurved claw, distinctly inflected, distal portions laterally compressed conspicuously. Digits with mostly unpaired lamellae, separated into a basal and narrower distal series by a single, much enlarged lamella at inflection; basal lamellae series: (5 - 6 - 6 - 6 - 5 right manus, 3 - 6 - 7 - 6 - 6 right pes), (5 - 6 - 6 - 6 - 5 left manus, Fig. 10 E; 3 – 6 – 7 – 6 – 5 left pes, Fig. 10 F); distal lamellae series: (8 - 9 - 12 - 12 - 10 right manus, 9 - 10 - 12 - 12 - 12 right pes), (8 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 9 left manus, Fig. 10 E; 9 – 10 – 12 – 12 – 13 left pes, Fig. 10 F). Relative length of digits (measurements in mm in parentheses): IV (4.6) = III (4.6)> V (4.2)> II (3.9)> I (2.8) (left manus); IV (5.5)> V (5.4)> III (5.3)> II (4.2)> I (2.8) (left pes). Tail original, subcylindrical, slender, entire, marginally longer than body (TL / SVL 1.11) (Fig. 9 C, D). Dorsal pholidosis on tail homogeneous; composed of fairly regularly arranged, smooth, elongated, flattened, and subimbricate scales that are larger than granular scales on midbody dorsum, gradually becoming larger posteriorly and dorsolaterally; a few scattered enlarged tubercles present on the tail base (Fig. 9 C). Scales on tail venter much larger than those on dorsal aspect, smooth, flattened, subimbricate; median series smooth, variable in size and shape, and not enlarged (Fig. 9 D). Scales on tail base much smaller, smooth, subimbricate; three subequal and smooth postcloacal tubercles on either side (Fig. 9 D).	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
9FBED2B10283548FB367379B21E149F0.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific epithet, Chure (ch-oo-ray), is the Nepali word for the Siwalik Mountain range, within which the type locality lies, and is used as a noun in apposition. In Nepal, Chure is widely used among policy makers, conservationists, and local communities to refer to the Siwaliks. These are the youngest, driest, least geologically stable, and southernmost of the Himalayan ranges, delineating the boundary with the lowland (Terai) plains. Suggested common name is Chure bent-toed gecko.	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
9FBED2B10283548FB367379B21E149F0.taxon	distribution	Distribution and natural history. Individuals were found ca 1930 – 2330 hrs on 16 June 2024 on the walls of Hariharpurgadhi Fort in Sindhuli District, Bagmati Province, Nepal (Fig. 1), which was constructed in mid- 16 th century during Sen dynasty. Two to three individuals were observed within ~ 1 m on the fort wall ~ 1 – 3 m above ground level. The walls of the fort were shaded in patches by bushes and low-growing grasses and had numerous crevices (Fig. 8 B). There is little natural vegetation around the fort and we did not sample any forest patches. The fort is relatively remote, located within the Siwalik Mountain range ca 40 km away from the nearest township (Sindhuli Madi). There is little human visitation and, currently, low levels of vehicle traffic. However, road construction projects across the Siwalik mountains, including a road development between Sindhuli and Makwanpur, will increase the volume of traffic in the near future. Currently, the fort area during the night is calm and the animals appeared sensitive to flashlights. Other lizards observed were Hemidactylus platyurus (Schneider, 1797) at night and Eutropis carinata (Schneider, 1801) during the day.	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
4EA4AE6D42CC5E42A9011CCBFDA734D2.taxon	description	Figs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Tables 2, 3	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
4EA4AE6D42CC5E42A9011CCBFDA734D2.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. A medium- sized Cyrtodactylus, snout to vent length up to 78.7 mm. Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; smooth granular scales intermixed with fairly regularly arranged rows of enlarged, feebly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles; a weak ventrolateral fold on lower flank; 18 – 20 rows of dorsal tubercles at midbody, 32 – 40 tubercles in paravertebral rows; ventral scales subequal from chest to vent, smooth, subcircular, and subimbricate with rounded end; 38 – 41 scales across belly at midbody, 76 – 90 longitudinal scales between axilla to groin, 167 – 195 longitudinal scales from mental to cloaca; subdigital scansors smooth, unnotched, and mostly entire; 12 – 14 lamellae under digit I of manus and pes, 16 – 18 lamellae under digit IV of manus and 19 – 23 lamellae under digit IV of pes; a series of nine precloacal pore-bearing scales contiguous with 10 or 11 enlarged precloacal scales in males (n = 4); female lack pores but have 7 – 9 pitted homologous scales, and 11 – 13 enlarged precloacal scales (n = 3); dorsal scales on non-regenerated tail homogeneous, fairly regularly arranged, smooth, subcircular, flattened, and subimbricate, and larger than granular scales at dorsal midbody, gradually becoming larger posteriorly and dorsolaterally; a few scattered enlarged tubercles present on the tail base; subcaudal scales in median series smooth, variable in size and shape, and not enlarged; variegated dorsal pattern, original tail bearing 10 – 13 alternating dark and light bands.	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
4EA4AE6D42CC5E42A9011CCBFDA734D2.taxon	description	Description of the holotype. Adult male in good state of preservation except tail bent towards left, and a 4.0 mm long incision in sternal region for tissue collection (Fig. 3 A – D). SVL 66.8 mm, head short (HL / SVL 0.24), wide (HW / HL 0.69), not strongly depressed (HD / HL 0.38), distinct from neck. Loreal region inflated, canthus rostralis indistinct. Snout half of head length (ES / HL 0.44), twice the eye diameter (ES / ED 2.00); scales on snout and canthus rostralis oval, subequal, smooth, much larger than those on forehead and interorbital region; scales on forehead similar to those on snout and canthus rostralis except slightly smaller; scales on interorbital, occipital, and temporal regions heterogeneous, composed of granular scales intermixed with enlarged, feebly keeled, rounded tubercles (Fig. 4 A). Eye small (ED / HL 0.22), with vertical pupil having crenulated margins; supraciliaries short, larger anteriorly; 15 interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal; 47 scale rows between left and right supraciliaries at mid-orbit (Fig. 4 A, C). Ear opening small, oval, deep (EL / HL 0.10); eye to ear distance much greater than diameter of eye (EE / ED 1.36) (Fig. 4 C). Rostral ~ 2 × wider (2.8 mm) than high (1.5 mm), incompletely divided dorsally by a strongly developed rostral groove for ~ 1 / 2 of its height; a single enlarged, roughly rectangular supranasal on each side,> 5 – 6 × the size of upper postnasal, separated from each other behind rostral by a single much smaller internasal scale; rostral in contact with supralabial I, nostril and supranasal, and internasal on either side; nostrils oval, surrounded by three postnasals, supranasal, rostral, and supralabial I on either side; three subequal postnasals on either side; two rows of scales separate orbit from supralabials (Fig. 4 C). Mental enlarged, subtriangular, slightly wider (2.8 mm) than high (2.4 mm); two pairs of postmentals, inner pair roughly triangular, slightly shorter (1.7 mm) than mental, in weak contact with each other below mental (0.3 mm); inner pair bordered by mental, infralabial I, outer postmental on either side and additionally by 11 slightly enlarged chin shields below; outer postmentals roughly rectangular, much smaller (0.8 mm) than inner pair, bordered by inner postmentals, infralabials I and II, and four chin shields on either side, 11 enlarged gular scales between left and right outer postmentals; all chin shields bordering postmentals flattened, subequal, subcircular, smooth, and much smaller than outermost postmentals; scales on rest of throat, granular, much smaller, smooth, and subcircular (Fig. 4 B). Infralabials bordered below by a row or two of slightly enlarged, much elongated scales, decreasing in size posteriorly. Eleven supralabials to angle of jaw on either side and eight at midorbital position on left and seven on right side; supralabial I largest, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly; ten infralabials to angle of jaw on left and nine on right side, and seven at midorbital position on either side; infralabial I largest, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly (Fig. 4 C). Body relatively slender (BW / AGL 0.34), trunk slightly less than half of SVL (AGL / SVL 0.45) with weak ventrolateral fold (Fig. 5 A – C). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; smooth granular scales intermixed with fairly regularly arranged rows of enlarged, feebly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles; granular scales gradually increasing in size towards each flank, largest on mid-flank; granular scales on occiput slightly smaller than paravertebral granular scales; enlarged tubercles in ~ 19 longitudinal rows at midbody; 33 tubercles in paravertebral rows (Fig. 5 A). Ventral scales much larger than granular scales on dorsum, subequal from chest to vent, smooth, subcircular and subimbricate with rounded end; scales on precloacal region distinctly enlarged; midbody scale rows across belly 41; 195 scales from mental to anterior border of cloaca and 87 scales between limb insertions (Fig. 5 B). A continuous series of nine precloacal pores; femoral pores absent (Fig. 4 D). Scales on palm and soles, smooth, oval or subcircular, subequal and more or less flattened; scales on dorsal aspects of limbs heterogenous; composed of slightly smaller, smooth, subimbricate scales intermixed with enlarged, weakly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles which are slightly larger on thigh and shank than lower arm, enlarged tubercles absent on upper arm; scales on ventral aspect of upper arm smooth, granular, slightly smaller than granular scales on body dorsum, scales on ventral aspect of lower arm much larger than those on upper arm, smooth, subcircular, weakly conical to flattened, and subimbricate; ventral aspect of thigh and shank with enlarged, smooth, roughly rounded, flattened, subimbricate scales, slightly larger and oval on the shank but otherwise similar in size to those on body ventrals (Fig. 3 A, B). Forelimbs and hindlimbs slightly long, slender (LAL / SVL 0.14; CL / SVL 0.17); digits long, with a strong, recurved claw, distinctly inflected, distal portions laterally compressed conspicuously. Digits with mostly unpaired lamellae, separated into a basal and narrower distal series by a single, much enlarged lamella at inflection; basal lamellae series: (5 - 6 - 6 - 6 - 6 right manus, 3 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 7 right pes), (5 - 6 - 5 - 6 - 6 left manus, Fig. 4 E; 3 – 6 – 7 – 9 – 6 left pes, Fig. 4 F); distal lamellae series: (9 - 10 - 12 - 12 - 11 right manus, 10 - 11 - 13 - 12 - 14 right pes), (9 - 10 - 12 - 12 - 11 left manus, Fig. 4 E; 10 – 11 – 14 – 13 – 13 left pes, Fig. 4 F). Relative length of digits (measurements in mm in parentheses): IV (5.8)> III (5.4)> V (5.1)> II (4.9)> I (3.6) (left manus); IV (7.3)> III (6.9)> V (6.3)> II (5.4)> I (3.6) (left pes). Tail original, subcylindrical, slender, entire, slightly longer than body (TL / SVL 1.20) (Fig. 3 C, D). Dorsal pholidosis on tail homogeneous; composed of fairly regularly arranged, smooth, subcircular, flattened, and subimbricate scales that are larger than granular scales on midbody dorsum, gradually becoming larger posteriorly and dorsolaterally; a few scattered enlarged tubercles present on the tail base (Fig. 3 C). Scales on tail venter much larger than those on dorsal aspect, smooth, flattened, subimbricate; median series smooth, variable in size and shape, and not enlarged (Fig. 3 D). Scales on tail base much smaller, smooth, subimbricate; three subequal and smooth postcloacal tubercles on left and four on right side (Fig. 3 D).	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
4EA4AE6D42CC5E42A9011CCBFDA734D2.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific epithet is a toponym for Makwanpurgadhi (Gadhi = Fort), which is ~ 17 km north-east of Hetauda town, Makwanpur District in Bagmati Province. Makwanpurgadhi is the largest fort in Nepal and was established in the 16 th century during the Sen dynasty. Suggested common name is Makwanpurgadhi bent-toed gecko.	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
4EA4AE6D42CC5E42A9011CCBFDA734D2.taxon	distribution	Distribution and natural history. We spotted ~ 20 – 25 individuals from ca 1930 – 2130 hrs on 10 July 2024 between the heights of <10 cm to ~ 5 m on the walls of Makwanpurgadhi Fort and along roadside walls between Makwanpurgadhi and Hetauda town (Fig. 1). The walls of the fort were partially covered with algae and had numerous crevices (Fig. 8 A). Broadly within the sub-tropical Sal mixed forest belt, there is little natural vegetation around the fort as it is a popular tourist destination with manicured lawns by day, but relatively quiet and calm at night. No disturbances were observed during nighttime sampling, although individuals facing the road are likely to have to contend with lights from passing traffic. We did not sample any forest areas. Other lizards observed here were Calotes versicolor (Daudin, 1802) and Hemidactylus sp.	en	Bhattarai, Santosh, Gautam, Bivek, Neupane, Bishal Prasad, Khandekar, Akshay, Thackeray, Tejas, Agarwal, Ishan, Olson, Ashley R., Hogan, Fiona, Wright, Wendy (2025): Description of two new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Nepal. ZooKeys 1253: 131-160, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1253.161933
