Calotes desilvai BAHIR & MADUWAGE, 2005
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Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Calotes desilvai BAHIR & MADUWAGE 2005 Calotes desilvai — SOMAWEERA & SOMAWEERA 2009 |
Distribution | Sri Lanka (Morningside Forest Reserve, elevation ca 1,080 m, and adjacent forest, at the eastern border of Sinharaja World Heritage Site) Type locality: Morningside Forest, Eastern Sinharaja, Sri Lanka, 06°24’N, 80°36’E, elevation 1080 m. |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: NMSL (= WHT) 1832 |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Calotes desilvai is distinguished from C. liolepis by having the fifth toe 42.6–47.0% of head length in males, 41.9–45.9% in females (vs. 31.0–39.5% and 33.0–40.5% respectively, in C. liolepis); bands on gular area distinct, black (vs. bands on gular area faint, brown); shoulder pit black (vs. shoulder pit cream white to brown); and scales on ventral surface of thigh smooth (vs. scales on the ventral surface of thigh carinate). Males of C. desilvai may also be distinguished from males of C. liolepis by their longer upper arm and femur (49.6–50.0 and 70.3–75.0% of head length, respectively) vs. shorter upper arm and femur (40.3–49.3 and 57.1–69.5%, respectively) and a comparatively short posterior supratympanic spine (1.7–2.7% of head length), longer in C. liolepis (3.1–12.9%). |
Comment | Among the Sri Lankan Calotes, the new species seems most closely related to C. liolepis Boulenger. Rare and critically endangered in Sri Lanka (BAHIR & SURASINGHE 2005). Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). |
Etymology | Named after Anslem de Silva, founder of the Amphibia and Reptile Research Organisation (ARROS) and patron of herpetology in Sri Lanka for more than the past three decades. |
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