Cnemaspis nicobaricus CHANDRAMOULI, 2020
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Cnemaspis nicobaricus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Cnemaspis nicobaricus CHANDRAMOULI 2020 Cnemaspis kandiana – BISWAS & SANYAL 1977 (non KELAAART 1852) Cnemaspis kandiana – BISWAS & SANYAL 1980 (non KELAAART 1852) Cnemaspis kandiana – DAS 1999 (non KELAAART 1852) |
| Distribution | India (Great Nicobar Island) Type locality: Campbell Bay (7.019N, 93.923E, 12 m elevation), Great Nicobar Island |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: ZSI/ANRC/T/10928, collected from human habitation on 20 July 2017. Paratopotypes: DOSMB05106 and DOSMB05107, adult females collected from human habitation from the same locality on 18 and 22 July 2017. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A species of Cnemaspis restricted to Great and Little Nicobar Islands in the Nicobar archipelago, characterized by: small body size (27.64 – 31.08 mm SVL); presence of four enlarged conical tubercles on the flanks; 2 post-mentals separated from each other by a single scale; presence of 2-3 internasals; presence of 6-7 supralabials; 8 infralabials; 16-18 subdigital lamellae under toe IV; smooth pectoral, abdominal and femoral scales; presence of 3 femoral pores on each thigh; absence of precloacal pores and irregularly shaped, small sized subcaudal scales (Chandramouli 2020). Colouration in life: Overall dorsal colouration uniform dark brown with small feeble darker spots on the dorsum with a pale yellow linear vertebral stripe extending from the neck till the anterior portion of the tail. Pearly white coloured ventrally. A dark stripe along the canthal region; continuing as post-ocular stripes, passing through the tympana on to the dorso-lateral regions along the trunk, where they converge at some points to form 4 – 5 ‘X’ shaped markings (Chandramouli 2020). Comparisons: The new species described here is compared with members of the C. kandiana group from the Andaman Islands (C. andersonii Annandale, 1905 and C. wicksi (Stoliczka, 1873)), Isthmus of Kra region and the Mentawai archipelago. C. nicobaricus sp. nov. differs from C. andersonii, C. wicksi, C. tanintharyi Lee, Miller, Zug and Mulcahy, 2019, C. thayawthadangyi Lee, Miller, Zug and Mulcahy, 2019, C. dezwaani Das, 2005, C. modiglianii Das, 2005, C. whittenorum Das, 2005, C. andalas Iskander McGurie and Amarasinghe, 2017, C. minang Iskander McGurie and Amarasinghe, 2017, C. pagai Iskander McGurie and Amarasinghe, 2017 and C. tapanuli Iskander McGurie and Amarasinghe, 2017 in lacking precloacal pores (vs. present in all of the above species); presence of three femoral pores on each thigh (vs. absent in C. phuketensis Das and Leong, 2004 and C. jacobsoni Das, 2005; 4 in C. thayawthadangyi, 4-5 in C. tanintharyi, 6 in C. whittenorum); in having four keeled spinular tubercles on the lateral body (vs. 6) it differs from C. aceh and C. andalas of the Mentawai Islands. Ventrals smooth in C. nicobaricus sp. nov. vs. keeled gular, pectoral and abdominal scales in C. andersonii, C. wicksi, C. aceh, C. dezwaani, C. tanintharyi, C. jacobsoni, C. modiglianii, C. whittenorum and C. pagai. Subcaudals not elongate horizontally in C. nicobaricus sp. nov. vs. elongated in C. aceh, C. andalas, C. minang, C. pagai and C. tapanuli; enlarged in C. dezwaani, C. jacobsoni C. tanintharyi, C. thayawthadangyi and C. whittenorum (Das, 2005; Manamendra-Arachchi et al., 2007; Iskander et al., 2017; Lee et al., 2019). In addition, from C. kandiana of Sri Lanka, the new species can be distinguished by the absence of precloacal pores (vs. present in C. kandiana); four spiny tubercles on the flanks (vs.6 in C. kandiana) (Chandramouli 2020). |
| Comment | Distribution: see map in Chandramouli 2020: 10 (Fig. 7). |
| Etymology | The specific epithet nicobaricus is a toponym referring to the geographic distribution of the new species. |
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