Agasthyagama beddomei (BOULENGER, 1885)
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Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Indian Kangaroo Lizard |
Synonym | Otocryptis beddomii BOULENGER 1885: 272 Otocryptis beddomii — SMITH 1935: 147 Otocryptis beddomii — WERMUTH 1967: 74 Otocryptis beddomii — DAS 1996: 44 Otocryptis beddomei — MANTHEY 2010: 114 Agasthyagama beddomii — SRIKANTHAN et al. 2021 Agasthyagama beddomii — DAS et al. 2024 |
Distribution | S India (Themala in Kerala; Western Ghats; previously reported from Sivagiri Ghats, Cardamom Hills) Type locality: Sivagiri Ghat, South India. |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Lectotype: NHMUK 1882. 5.22.101, adult female, designated by Das et al. 2024. Paralectotypes: ZSI 15733, adult female, NHMUK 1882.5.22.102–104, one female and two males. Other specimens: Four males (FMNH 217757, FMNH 217760, FMNH 217767, FMNH 217768) and four females (FMNH 217764, FMNH 217765, FMNH 217773, FMNH 217775) collected by R. F. Inger and H. B. Shaffer from Trivandrum district, Kerala; two males (BNHS 3220, BNHS 3221) collected from Shendurney, Kollam district, Kerala. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus and species). A small sized genus of draconine agamid lizard (average male SVL 38.2 mm; female SVL 40.8 mm), endemic to the Western Ghats of India, diagnosed by the following characters of lepidosis and osteology: dewlap appendage and second ceratobranchials not extending beyond forelimb insertion, dewlap diminished, males with small brightly colored gular sac; scales on gular sac equal sized; nuchal and dorsal crest not developed; small, rounded antehumeral pit present; 2 or 3 median rows of elongate and more or less regular scales present between supraoculars; temporal region with 1 or 2 enlarged, conical scales; yellow to orange coloration only in gular region; presence of large trihedral scales on the dorsolateral aspect of the body. (Srikanthan et al. 2021) Additional details (4027 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
Comment | Type species: Otocryptis beddomii BOULENGER 1885: 272 is the type species of the genus Agasthyagama SRIKANTHAN et al. 2022. Distribution: For a map see Srikanthan et al. 2021: 213 (Fig. 2), Das et al. 2024: 152 (Fig. 1). |
Etymology | Named after Richard Henry Beddome, 1830–1911, British army officer and botanist. The gender was named after its distribution range in the Agasthyamalai, that in turns gets its name from the Vedic sage Agathya—a sage in Hindu tradition—suffixed with the nomen “agama”, commonly used to refer to agamid lizards, a term believed to have been brought to Dutch Guiana (Suriname) by West African slaves, whose term for chameleons was ‘agama’ in their native Gbe language (Arends 2017). The gender is masculine. |
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