Eutropis nagarjuni (SHARMA, 1969)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Eutropis nagarjuni?
Eutropis nagarjuni
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Mabuyinae (Mabuyini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Nagarjuni lizard, Sharma's Mabuya |
| Synonym | Mabuya nagarjuni SHARMA 1969 Mabuya nagarjuni — SHARMA 1971 Mabuya nagarjuni — DAS 1996: 47 Eutropis nagarjuni — MAUSFELD et al. 2002 Eutropis nagarjunensis — AMARASINGHE et al. 2016 Eutropis nagarjunensis — AMARASINGHE et al. 2021 Eutropis nagarjuni — CHAPPLE et al. 2021 Eutropis nagarjunensis — GANESH & GUPTHA 2021 |
| Distribution | India (Andhra Pradesh) Type locality: "Vijaypuri South, near right-bank of R. Krishna, lat. 16°35’N., long. 79°28’E., elevation 500 ft." (in Andhra Pradesh, south-eastern India). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: ZSI 21170; ZSI 21171 (paratype) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: SVL to 51 mm; prefrontals not in contact with each other; three pairs of nuchals and postnasals present and labial; and gular regions not flame scarlet (from DAS et al. 2008). Extended diagnosis in Srinivasulu et al. (2005). See also diagnosis in Sharma 1971: 84. |
| Comment | Not listed, at least as such, in the Zoological Record of 1969. |
| Etymology | In the original description, Sharma (1969) did not mention the reason he gave the species epithet as “nagarjuni”. It could be that he wanted to honour a person (male) called “Nagarjun”. However, Sharma (1971) in his publication “The reptile fauna of the Nagarjunasagar Dam Area (Andhra Pradesh, India)” clearly stated the distribution of this species as the “Nagarjunasagar Area”. Therefore, Amarasinghe inferred that Sharma (1969) intended to name his species epithet as a toponym, but mistakenly named it as a patronym. Therefore, they corrected the species epithet as a participle adding the genitive termination “–ensis” to the stem of the name (i.e. Nagarjun) according to the generic name (i.e. Eutropis) which is feminine (Amarasinghe et al. 2016). However, the emendation by Amarasinghe et al is incorrect. Specific epithets based on place names can be either nouns in apposition, or adjectives, and there is no requirement that the termination of adjectival forms has to be -ensis/ense. In this case, it is apparent that nagarjuni is a noun in apposition, and attempting to transform it into an adjectival form is incorrect. So this falls under the case of an unjustified emendation (Glenn Shea, pers. comm., 9 May 2021). |
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