Cnemaspis maculicollis CYRIAC, JOHNY, UMESH & PALOT, 2018
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Cnemaspis maculicollis
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Cnemaspis maculicollis CYRIAC, JOHNY, UMESH & PALOT 2018 |
| Distribution | India (Kerala: Pandimotta, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kollam District in the Agasthyamalai Hill complex; elevation 1200–1250 m) Type locality: Pandimotta (08.82749°N, 077.21703°E) at an elevation of 1238m, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kollam District, Kerala. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: ZSI/WGRC/IR.V/2704, an adult male of SVL 42.5 mm; collected on 02 January 2016 by Muhamed Jafer Palot and Vivek Philip Cyriac. Paratype: ZSI/WGRC/IR.V/2705, an adult female of SVL 52.7 mm; collected from rock crevice at the same locality as holotype on 02 January 2016 by Muhamed Jafer Palot and Vivek Philip Cyriac. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A large sized slender Cnemaspis with a maximum snout-vent length 52.7 mm (n = 2); mid-dorsal scales heterogeneous with small granular scales intermixed with large, irregularly arranged, smooth rounded tubercles more pronounced towards the posterior end; spine-like tubercles absent on flanks; ventral scales of neck and abdomen smooth, subimbricate; supralabials to angle of jaw, 7; infralabials, 7–8; subdigital lamellae under manus IV 20–24, under pes IV 23–24; tail base slightly swollen with a single postcloacal spurs on each side; dorsal scales of tail smooth, without whorls of enlarged tubercles; subcaudals on original tail enlarged, smooth irregularly arranged scales; male with 10 precloacal pores, femoral pores absent; pale white spots in the posterior- lateral and posterior-dorsal end of the head; 5–6 pale white spots on the nape. Cnemaspis maculicollis sp. nov. differs from all other Indian congeners by the following characters: absence of spine-like tubercles on flanks (versus spine-like tubercles present on flanks in C. assamensis Das & Sengupta, C. gracilis (Beddome), C. goaensis Sharma, C. littoralis (Jerdon), C. mysoriensis (Jerdon), C. indraneildasii Bauer, C. jerdonii (Theobald), C. otai Das & Bauer, C. wicksii (Stoliczka), C. andersonii (Annandale), C. monticola Manamendra-Arachchi, Batuwita & Pethiyagoda, C. nilagirica Manamendra-Arachchi, Batuwita & Pethiyagoda, and C. flaviventralis Sayyed, Pyron & Dahanukar); presence of 10 precloacal pores and absence of femoral pores (versus presence of only femoral pores in C. wynadensis (Beddome), C. sisparensis (Theobald), C. anaikattiensis Mukherjee, Bhupathy & Nixon, C. heteropholis Bauer, C. littoralis, C. indica (Gray), C. jerdonii, C. girii Mirza, Pal, Bhosale & Sanap, C. kotiyoorensis Cyriac & Umesh and C. flaviventralis; presence of both femoral and precloacal pores in C. gracilis, C. goaensis, C. mysoriensis, C. indraneildasii, C. otai, C. yercaudensis Das & Bauer, C. wicksii, C. andersonii, C. australis Manamendra-Arachchi, Batuwita & Pethiyagoda and C. adii Srinivasulu, Kumar & Srinivasulu; presence of only 2 precloacal pores in C. anamudiensis sp. nov.; presence of a continuous series of 24–28 precloacal and femoral pores in C. kolhapurensis Giri, Bauer & Gaikwad; absence of both femoral and precloacal pores in C. boiei (Gray) and C. assamensis); tail without whorls of enlarged pointed or flattened caudal tubercles and two postcloacal spurs at the base of the tail (versus tail with whorls of enlarged or flattened caudal tubercles in C. gracilis, C. goaensis, C. littoralis, C. mysoriensis, C. indraneildasii, C. jerdonii, C. otai, C. yercaudensis, C. monticola, C. australis and C. nilagirica; without postcloacal spur in C. wynadensis, C. kottiyoorensis, C. sisparensis and C. heteropholis); dorsal scales heterogeneous with small granular scales intermixed with irregularly arranged, enlarged, smooth, rounded tubercles (versus dorsal scales homogenous in C.boiei, C. indica, C. jerdonii, C. littoralis, C. nilagirica, C. wynadensis, C. sisparensis, C. kolhapurensis and C. adii). Cnemaspis maculicollis sp. nov. closely resembles C. ornata (Beddome), C. nairi Inger, Marx & Koshy and C. beddomei (Theobald). It is differentiated from C. beddomei by its comparatively long slender head and body (HL 27.9 % SVL, HW 59.4 % of HL, TW 34.2 % AG), the distinctive white spots on the nape, 23–24 lamellae on pes IV and presence of 10 precloacal pores (versus robust head and body [HL 28.1 % SVL, HW 72.5 % HL; see Manamendra-Arachchi et al. 2007], lack of white spots on the nape, 16 lamellae on pes IV and 6–8 precloacal pores in C. beddomei). Cnemaspis maculicollis sp. nov. can be differentiated from C. nairi by its long slender head (HL 27.9 % SVL, HW 59.4 % of HL), the distinctive white spots on the nape, and presence of 10 precloacal pores (versus robust head [HL 29.8 % SVL, HW 64.8 % HL; see Inger et al. 1984], lack of white spots on the nape and 7–8 precloacal pores). Cnemaspis maculicollis sp. nov. can be differentiated from C. ornata by its lack of enlarged flattened tubercles on the tail, the presence of 10 precloacal pores and the dorsum with irregularly arranged enlarged rounded tubercles (versus enlarged flattened tubercles on the tail, 6–8 precloacal pores and dorsum with irregularly arranged enlarged conical tubercles in C. ornata). |
| Comment | Habitat: crevices of a boulder amidst the shola-grassland ecosystem. The rock boulders are covered with mosses and lichens (Fig. 3C in Cyriac et al. 2018). The vegetation is dominated by shola forests interspersed with lush growth of reed brakes. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word macula meaning spot and collus meaning neck referring to the distinctive necklace like white spots on the nape of this species. |
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