Cyrtodactylus himachalensis, Bhardwaj & Purkayastha & Lalremsanga & Mirza, 2025

Bhardwaj, Virender K., Purkayastha, Jayaditya, Lalremsanga, H. T. & Mirza, Zeeshan A., 2025, Two new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from the western Himalayas, Zootaxa 5665 (2), pp. 205-222 : 214-219

Cyrtodactylus himachalensis sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EB270CE5-9A3E-4FD4-9E1F-66DE8EE70043

Figs. 6–9 , Table 3

Holotype: adult male BNHS 3345 from near Khanyara , Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, India (32.199167° N, 76.376194° E, elevation 1331m asl), collected by Virender K. Bhardwaj and Zeeshan A. Mirza on 18 May 2024 . Paratypes (n=3): two adult females BNHS 3347 & BNHS 3353 and an adult male BNHS 3346 collected from the same locality and date by Kunal Purandare, Virender K. Bhardwaj and Zeeshan A. Mirza .

Diagnosis: A medium-sized Cyrtodactylus with SVL range 42.4–57.2 mm. Supralabials 9–11 and 7–9 IL, 35–39 MVSR. Dorsal scales heterogeneous, granular scales intermixed with 16–17 rows of feebly keeled dorsal tubercles. Paravertebral tubercles 36–41. Precloacal pores 6–8 separated by a single non-pored scale in males (3 or 4 on each side of the poreless scale); pores absent in females. Femoral pores absent in males as well as females. Dorsum with three broad bands between the forelimb and hindlimb insertions.

The new species is here compared with members of the C. lawderanus group for non-overlapping characters that may be used for diagnosing the new species: PcP 6–8 in males separated by a single non-pored scale (8–10 PcP in C. battalensis in a continuous series, 5 in C. chamba in a continuous series, 9–10 in C. dattanensis in a continuous series, 4 in C. tibetanus and C. zhaoermii in a continuous series, 6 in C. shivalikensis sp. nov. in a continuous series), dorsal scales heterogeneous with keeled subconical tubercles in 16–17 rows, 7–8 granular scales around each tubercle (versus homogeneous in C. chamba , 11–15 tubercle rows with flattened tubercles surrounded by 7–8 granular scales in C. lawderanus ).

Etymology: The new species is named after the word ‘Himachal’, which refers to the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where it was collected.

Description of holotype male BNHS 3345 ( Fig. 6 ): An adult male with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 53.5 mm. The head constitutes approximately one-third of the SVL (HL/SVL ratio 0.31), is longer than wide (HW/HL ratio 0.61), and slightly compressed (HH/HW ratio 0.64), distinct from the neck. The loreal region is without inflation, and the interorbital area is flat, canthus rostralis not prominent. The snout accounts for nearly one-third of the head length (SE/HL ratio 0.33) and is twice the orbital diameter (OD/SE ratio 0.50). Scales on the forehead, snout, and loreal region are heterogeneous, flat, and juxtaposed, with larger scales along the canthus rostralis. The interorbital region is covered with granular scales interspersed with slightly enlarged rounded tubercles surrounded by 7–8 granules. The occipital and temporal regions have smaller granules mixed with scattered, rounded tubercles, larger than those in the interorbital region, surrounded by 7–8 granular scales. The eye occupies about one-sixth of the head length (OD/HL ratio 0.17) having a vertical pupil with crenellated margins. Supraciliaries are largest in the anterior half of the orbit and decrease in size posteriorly. The ear opening is oval and obliquely aligned, with the eye-to-ear distance exceeding the eye diameter (OD/EE ratio 0.70). The rostral scale is wider than deep, partially divided, bordered posteriorly by a pair of large supranasals and a smaller internasal. The rostral contacts the first supralabial, supranasals, and an internasal. The nostrils are oval, laterally oriented, and covered by a nasal pad, each in contact with the rostral, supranasals, supralabial I, and three small postnasals. Three to four scale rows separate the orbit from the supralabials. The mental scale is triangular, broader than long, bordered by three pairs of post-mental scales. The inner pair is the longest and largely in contact with the mental, bordered by the first infralabial, second postmental, and small gular scales. Supralabials 10/10, bordered from SL II to SL V by a row of elongated scales. Infralabials 8/9, with IL I and II bordered by three pairs of postmentals, and IL III–VI lined with 2–3 enlarged, elongated scales rows. The narrowest interorbital width spans approximately 24 scale rows.

The trunk is slightly less than half the SVL (TRL/SVL ratio 0.46), ventrolateral folds are present. Dorsal scales are heterogeneous, comprising small, rounded granules intermixed with tubercles arranged in an ill-defined manner, Tubercles enlarged, bluntly subconical and feebly keeled tubercles. Tubercles extend from the interorbital region to just beyond the base of the tail, being smaller on the head and nape, than on the body, 7–8 smaller granules surround each larger tubercle. Slightly beyond the tail base, larger, elongated, and weakly pointed tubercles are present, more circular at the base. There are about 16 longitudinal rows of tubercles at the mid-body, and 36 tubercles in the paravertebral row from the occiput to the mid-sacrum. Ventral scales are smooth, larger, and imbricate around the mid-axis, transitioning to smaller, rounded scales toward the ventrolateral folds. Gular scales are granular, except for 2–3 rows of larger, elongated scales adjacent to the postmentals and infralabials. The precloacal region includes 8 discontinuous precloacal pores arranged in a wide angle, featuring a poreless scale following the fourth pore. There are four rows of enlarged scales, larger than the largest ventral, followed by 5–6 rows of smaller scales separating the pore-bearing row from the vent. Femoral pores and precloacal groove are absent. A prominent hemipenial bulge is visible.

Limbs are slender, with relatively short forearms (FL/SVL ratio 0.12) and crura (CL/SVL ratio 0.13). Digits are short and strongly flexed at joints, equipped with robust recurved claws. Subdigital lamellae are widened beneath the basal phalanx, with counts as follows: 11(2)-12(3)-15(4)-15(4)-14(5) (right manus) and 13(4)-13(4)-16(6)-20(9)- 18(6) (right pes). Interdigital webbing is absent. The relative lengths of the digits are as follows (measurements in mm in parentheses): I (2.4) <II (2.9) <V (3.4) <III (3.7) <IV (3.8) on the right manus, and I (2.3) <II (3.7) <III (4.3) <V (4.4) <IV (5) on the right pes. The forelimbs are covered with heterogeneous scales with larger, smooth, weakly pointed and subimbricate scales on the upper arm and anterior forearm and smaller granular scales on the rest of forelimbs, enlarged tubercles are absent. The ventral surface of the forelimb is covered with small granular scales. The hindlimb scales are also heterogeneous, with enlarged tubercles intermixed with smaller granular scales. The ventral surface of the hindlimbs is covered with smooth, imbricate scales.

The tail is regenerated, rounded, thickened at the middle portion and tapers towards the tip, with no distinct median furrow. The dorsal scales at the tail base are granular, intermixed with larger rounded tubercles. These scales gradually flatten and become subimbricate posteriorly, with elongate, weakly pointed tubercles present near the base and absent on the rest of the tail. The ventral scales are similar in size to the dorsal scales, sub-imbricate, without a distinct median row of subcaudal scales. Two postcloacal spurs are present on each side.

Colouration in preservative ( Figs. 6a & 6b ): Background colour in a shade of light brown with a slight tinge of yellow on the forelimbs. The head is predominantly a shade of dark brown, with diffused reticulate markings. Dorsal trunk with eight dark transverse bands between the caudal constriction. These bands are disconnected along the vertebral column, which forms a pale longitudinal stripe from the nape to the caudal constriction. The limbs bear an indistinct reticulate pattern. The labial scales bear diffuse remains of fairly well-spaced brown vertical bars. The ventral aspect is in a shade of cream to off-white with faint remains of brown reticulate markings on the trunk. The ventral aspect of the hind limbs is brown on the ventrolateral aspect. The regenerated tail is dark brown dorsally, gradually fading into the ventral cream colouration.

Colouration in life ( Fig. 9a ): The animal’s colouration in life is more vivid and more defined than the diffuse and faded patterns in the preserved specimen. The patterns on the head and the labial scales are especially prominent. The tubercles confined to the dorsal bands are either dark brown or yellow.

Natural History and Distribution: The type specimens were collected from the outskirts of Khanyara, along a road. The habitat of the area was degraded and was recently burned, and the floor of the forest was blackened due to the fire. The density of the lizards was low, likely due to the forest degradation and construction work along the road. No other sympatric reptile was observed at the locality during the survey. The sequence of the new species is highly similar to those generated by Agarwal et al. (2014), from Aut , Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh (GenBank accession nos. KM255175 & KM255190 ), suggesting that the new species occurs in Kangra District and Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh ( Fig. 10 ) .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Cyrtodactylus himachalensis sp. nov. holotype male BNHS 3345, (a) dorsal view, (b) ventral view. Scale bar 10 mm.

FIGURE 7. Cyrtodactylus himachalensis sp. nov. holotype male BNHS 3345 cephalic region, (a) dorsal view, (b) ventral view, (c) lateral left view. Scale bar 5 mm.

FIGURE 8. Cyrtodactylus himachalensis sp. nov. holotype male BNHS 3345 showing the trunk scalation and patterning (a); cloacal region showing pores (b).

FIGURE 9. Cyrtodactylus himachalensis sp. nov. in life, (a) holotype male BNHS 3345, (b) paratype female BNHS 3353.

FIGURE 10. Elevational gradient map of the western Himalayas showing the distribution of the members of the C. lawderanus group: 1. C. battalensis (near Batgram Town, District Mansehra, Pakistan), 2. C. dattanensis (Mansehra District, Pakistan), 3. C. siwalikensis sp. nov. (Reasi, Jammu), 4. C. cf. himachalensis (Samba, near Mansar), 5. C. himalayanus (Kishtwar, Jammu), 6. C. chamba (Chamba, Himachal Pradesh), 7-8. C. himachalensis sp. nov. (7. Khanyara, Dharamshala, 8. Aut, Mandi), 9–11. C. cf. lawderanus (9. Shimla, 10. Solan, 11. Sirmaur), 12. C. lawderanus (Almora). The inset relief map of India shows the region of interest highlighted by the red rectangle.