Cnemaspis azhagu KHANDEKAR, THACKERAY & AGARWAL, 2022
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Cnemaspis azhagu?
Cnemaspis azhagu
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Cnemaspis azhagu KHANDEKAR, THACKERAY & AGARWAL 2022 |
| Distribution | India (Tamil Nadu) Type locality: Thirukurungudi forest range (8.4069°N, 77.5485°E; ca. 200 m asl.), Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu state, India |
| Reproduction | Oviparous; 2-3 eggs per clutch (Khandekar et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: NRC-AA-1170 (AK-R 678), adult male, collected by Akshay Khandekar and team on 06 May 2021. Paratypes: NRC-AA-1171 (AK-R 670), NRC-AA-1172 (AK-R 671), NRC-AA-1174 (AK-R 673), BNHS 2818 (AK-R 674), BNHS 2819 (AK-R 675), BNHS 2820 (AK-R 676), adult males; BNHS 2821 (AK-R 677), adult female; NRC-AA-1173 (AK-R 672), subadult female. same collectors as holotype except collected on 07 May 2021. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A small-sized Cnemaspis, snout to vent length less than 38 mm (n=9). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous; smooth granular scales intermixed with a fairly regularly arranged row of enlarged, weakly keeled, conical tubercles on either side of flank; granular scales gradually increasing in size towards each flank, largest on mid-flank; spine-like scales absent on the flank; two (rarely three, n=1/9) rows of dorsal tubercles at midbody, enlarged tubercles in paravertebral region absent (rarely a few present, n=2/9); ventral scales subcircular, smooth, subimbricate, and subequal from chest to vent, 34–44 scales across belly at mid-body, 151–171 longitudinal scales from mental to cloaca; subdigital scansors smooth, some divided and others entire; 13–16 lamellae under digit I of manus and 12–14 lamellae under digit I of pes, 20–25 lamellae under digit IV of manus and 24– 27 lamellae under digit IV of pes; males (n=7/9) with a continuous series of 6–8 precloacal pores (n= 5/7), rarely divided medially by a single poreless scale (n=2/7), femoral pores absent; tail with enlarged, weakly keeled, pointed, and weakly conical tubercles forming four whorls only on anterior third; followed by a row of three paravertebral tubercles on either side; rest of tail without enlarged tubercles; a median row of subcaudals smooth, regularly arranged with condition of two slightly larger scales alternating with a large divided scale. Males with ochre head and grey body, females more uniform brown; single central black ocellus on occiput flanked by lighter markings, collar formed by thick black spots/ streak flanked posteriorly by white band just anterior to forelimb insertions; tail without strong markings; iris red with light orange ring surrounding pupil. (KHANDEKAR et al. 2022) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3521 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Behavior: Individuals were observed active during the daytime (morning to afternoon, 0930–1300 hrs). |
| Etymology | The specific epithet, azhagu (a-lha-gu, also sometimes transliterated as alaku), is the Tamil word for beauty (அழகு) and is used as a noun in apposition for this beautiful new species. |
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