Diploderma yangi WANG, ZHANG & LI, 2022
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Diploderma yangi?
Diploderma yangi
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Zayu Mountain Dragon Chinese: 察隅龙蜥 (Chá Yú Lóng Xî) |
| Synonym | Diploderma yangi WANG, ZHANG & LI 2022 Japalura flaviceps — HU et al. 1987 Japalura flaviceps — ZHAO & YANG 1997 Japalura flaviceps — ZHAO et al. 1999 Japalura laeviventris — RAO et al. 2017 Japalura laeviventris — RAO 2020 Japalura laeviventris — SUN & GAO 2017 |
| Distribution | China (Tibet Autonomous Region: Along the upper Salween Valley in Zayu County, Nynchi Prefecture) Type locality: Cawarong (=Chawalong) Village, Zayu County, Nynchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China (28.479ºN, 98.4656ºE, elevation 1887m) |
| Reproduction | Oviparous. None of the collected females were gravid, suggesting that the survey time in September already passed the breeding season of the species. (Wang et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: SWFU 005414, adult male, from Cawarong Village, Zayu County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China (28.479ºN, 98.4656ºE, elevation 1887 m). Collected by Liu Xiaolong, Li Xianqi, and Tie Minhua on 6 September 2020. Paratypes: SWFU 005415, 006812, adult males; SWFU 005417, 005418, subadult males; SWFU 005410–13, 005419, adult females. All share the same locality and collector information as the holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Diploderma yangi sp. nov. can be diagnosed from congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) adult body size moderate, SVL 57.8–64.5mm in adults; (2) tail long, TAL 202.8–216.6% SVL in males, 196.8–208.8% in females; (3) head width moderately wide, HW 69.0%–73.9% HL; (4) hind limbs long, HLL 69.6–86.3% SVL; (5) tympanum concealed; (6) crest scales small and numerous, MD 45–59; (6) feeble skin fold under nuchal crest in males, no skin fold under dorsal crest; (7) conical scales present on post temporal, post tympanic, and post rictal regions, each bearing 3–6 keels, POS 2–6, PTY 2–7, PRS 2–6; (8) F4S 14–18, T4S 20–24; (9) NSL mostly 1, rarely 0; (10) transverse gular fold present, distinct; (11) ventral head and body scales strongly keeled; (12) distinct radial dark stripes present around eyes; (13) dorsal background coloration Pale Pinkish Buff (Color 3), speckled with Warm Sepia (Color 40) to Dusky Brown (Color 285) spots laterally inferior to dorsolateral stripes; (14) dorsolateral stripes smooth edged and Pale Emerald Green (Color 141) to Light Pistachio (Color 101) in males, slightly wavy and Pale Buff (Color 1) to Pinkish Buff (Color 3) in females; (13) gular spot present in both sexes, Pale Emerald Green (Color 141) to Light Pistachio (Color 101), paler in females; and (14) oral cavity and tongue pale Light Flesh Color (Color 250). (Wang et al. 2022). |
| Comment | Similar species: Diploderma laeviventre Distribution: Rao et al. (2017) first recorded D. laeviventre in the Nujiang Prefecture of Yunnan Province, extending the distribution of the species southwards over hundreds of kilometers, and such distribution data were accepted by later studies (Sun & Gao, 2017; Rao 2020). However, Rao’s distribution extension was based on misunderstanding of literature, as pointed out by Wang et al. (2019 b). Our discovery of D. yangi in the Salween valley next to the provincial border in Tibet further exclude the possibility of having D. laeviventre in Yunnan, as any population of D. laeviventre in Yunnan will be allopatric. It is possible that our new species D. yangi extents its distribution southward into Yunnan along the Salween River, but its distribution would be limited to the north of Qiunatong Village in Gongshan County. |
| Etymology | The new species name is derived from the last name of Chinese herpetologist, Dr. Datong Yang, from Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We name the new species after Dr. Yang in honoring his pioneer works and lifetime contributions to the herpetological research in the Hengduan Mountain Region in China. |
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