Cristidorsa otai (MAHONY, 2009)
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Cristidorsa otai
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Ota's mountain Lizard |
| Synonym | Japalura otai MAHONY 2009 Japalura otai — MANTHEY 2010 Cristidorsa otai — WANG et al. 2018 |
| Distribution | NE India (Mizoram) Type locality: “Sairep, Lunglet District, Mizoram” (= Sairep (22°49'0 N, 92°49'0 E), Lunglei District, central Mizoram, northeast India). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: ZSI 25217 (male), collector S.S. Saha, 19 April, 1995. Paratypes: ZSI 25215 and 25216, two females, locality data as for holotype, coll. S. S. Saha, 16 and 19 April 1995. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Lizards of the genus ‘Cristidorsa’ dif- fer from other closely related Draconinae genera by having the following morphological characteristics: (1) head robust and relatively wide, HW/HL mostly >70%; (2) scales of lateral head keeled; (3) nuchal and dorsal crest feeble, CL/HL<5%; (4) post-occipital and post-orbital spines absent; (5) gular scales mostly homogeneous in size; (6) size of scales on lateral jaw subequal in size across gular region; (7) single pair of distinctively enlarged conical scales present on nape above shoulder, one scale on each side of vertebral crest; (8) dorsal scale significantly heterogeneous in sizes and shapes; (9) distinct, dorsolateral rows of enlarged, keeled scales present on dorsum; and (10) V-shaped ridges present along dorsal midline, formed by enlarged, keeled scales (Wang et al. 2018: 13) |
| Comment | Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). Type species: Japalura otai MAHONY 2009 is the type species of the genus Cristidorsa WANG et al. 2018. |
| Etymology | Named after Hidetoshi Ota of the Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Japan. His comprehensive work and taxonomic revisions of Japalura species have immensely contributed to our current knowledge of this genus. The Latin term ‘Cristidorsa’ means ‘ridged dorsum’, which describes the distinct, characteristic ridges on the dorsal surface of the body in the new genus. The generic name is feminine and it consists of two parts, namely ‘Cristi-’ (meaning ‘ridged’) and ‘-dorsa’ (meaning ‘dorsum’). Wang et al. 2018 suggested the English common name as ‘Ridged Dragons’ and the Chinese name as ‘棱背蜥’ (pronounced as ‘Leng-Bei-Shi’). |
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