Cyrtodactylus soba BATUWITA & BAHIR, 2005
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Cyrtodactylus soba?
Cyrtodactylus soba
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Dumbara bent toed gecko |
| Synonym | Cyrtodactylus soba BATUWITA & BAHIR 2005 Cyrtodactylus srilankensis DAS & SILVA 2005: 99 (nom. nud.) Cyrtodactylus soba — ZIESMANN et al. 2007 Cyrtodactylus soba — AMARASINGHE et al. 2022 |
| Distribution | Sri Lanka Type locality: Corbett’s Gap, Knuckles Mountains, Matale District (07°22’N, 80°51’E, elevation 1100 m). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: NMSL (= WHT) 6042, adult male (99.9 mm SVL), (regenerated tail broken at base). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis:– Cyrtodactylus soba, new species, is distinguished from all other congeners by the combination of following characters: subdigital lamellae beneath proximal portion of 4thdigit of manus, 6–7; beneath distal portion, 12–14; basal lamellae under proximal portion as wide as digit width. Subdigital lamellae beneath proximal portion of 4th digit of pes, 8; beneath distal portion, 12–16; absence of fragmented basal lamellae beneath distal phalanges; no precloacal groove; 5–8 precloacal pores in males; claws distinctly short (ClawLM/ ForeaL ratio 0.05–0.09; ClawLP/CrusL ratio 0.06–0.10); mental subpentagonal. Scales across mid-body between ventrolateral folds, 30–34. Dorsal scales across mid-body between ventrolateral folds,61–72. Tubercles on paravertebral row, 25–31; 7–10 rows of weakly keeled dorsal tubercles at mid-body.Ventral scales imbricate, with pointed posterior edges. Original tail longer than body (TailL/ SVL ratio range1.11). Among its Sri Lankan congeners, Cyrtodactylus soba resembles C. edwardtaylori, from which it may be distinguished by having 5 dorsal bands, 7–10 mid-dorsal tubercles, 25–31 paravertebral tubercles and mid-ventral scales with pointed posterior edge, vs. 4 dark bands, 14–15 mid-dorsal tubercles, 40–45 paravertebral tubercles and mid-ventral scales with rounded posterior edge. |
| Comment | Apparently the original intention of BATUWITA & BAHIR 2005 was to name C. soba differently, namely C. srilankensis, so DAS & SILVA (2005) used that name in their book while BATUWITA & BAHIR 2005 changed their mind. Since DAS & SILVA did not designate any type specimen for C. srilankensis it is both a nomen nudum and a junior synonym of C. soba (Mark O’Shea and Indraneil Das, pers. comm.). Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). |
| Etymology | Named after the Sinhala word for “beautiful”, an allusion to the beauty of the habitat of this species, appliedhere as a noun in apposition. |
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