Cnemaspis schalleri KHANDEKAR, THACKERAY, & AGARWAL, 2021
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Cnemaspis schalleri?
Cnemaspis schalleri
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Schaller’s Sakleshpur dwarf gecko |
| Synonym | Cnemaspis schalleri KHANDEKAR, THACKERAY, & AGARWAL 2021 |
| Distribution | India (Karnataka) Type locality: vicinity of Mookanana Resort, Honga- dahalla village, Sakleshpur (12.781°N, 75.708°E; ca. 850 m asl.), Hassan District, Karnataka, India |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. NRC-AA-1116 (AK 872), SVL 29.4 mm, adult male, collected by Akshay Khandekar, Swapnil Pawar and Tejas Thackeray on 05 June 2019. Paratypes. NRC-AA-1117 (AK 866), SVL 28.3 mm; NRC-AA-1118 (AK 867), SVL 29.3 mm; NRC-AA-1119 (AK 868), SVL 28.5 mm; BNHS 2794 (AK 870), SVL 30.8 mm; BNHS 2795 (AK 871), SVL 29.4 mm; BNHS 2796 (AK 873), SVL 27.5 mm (all adult males); BNHS 2797 (AK 865), SVL 31.7 mm, adult female, same collec- tion data as holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A small-sized Cnemaspis, maximum SVL 32 mm (n=8). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; weakly keeled, granular scales intermixed with about seven or eight regularly arranged rows of large, weakly keeled tubercles on each flank, tubercles in last two longitudinal rows largest, spine-like; regularly arranged 14–16 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body; a regular series of 17–20 paravertebral tubercles between forelimb and hindlimb insertions; ventral scales on pectoral region and belly smooth or keeled, imbricate, scales on gular region keeled; 27–30 transverse scales across belly at mid-body; 111–124 longitudinal scales from mental to cloaca; subdigital scansors smooth, entire, unnotched; 9–11 lamellae under first digit of manus and nine or 10 lamellae under first digit of pes; 13–15 lamellae under fourth digit of manus and 16–19 lamellae under fourth digit of pes; males with 3–5 femoral pores on each thigh separated on either side by 8–10 poreless scales from a continuous series of two (rarely three) precloacal pores (n=7); tail with enlarged, strongly keeled, distinctly pointed, conical tubercles forming whorls, median row of sub-caudal scales slightly enlarged, smooth at anterior half and strongly keeled posteriorly. Dorsal colouration dirty brown, light mid-dorsal stripe on nape, sometimes running onto tail, medial dark spot on nape which forms an indistinct collar, indistinct cross-bars made up of clusters of small grey blotches between forelimb insertions and tail base sometimes discernible; original tail banded. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is a patronym honouring George Beals Schaller, for his contributions to conservation, field research and science. Dr. Schaller has worked across a diversity of landscapes, but his early work was in the grasslands of Kanha, Madhya Pradesh, India and he continues to work on large mammals in the Indian subcontinent. |
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