Coryphophylax brevicauda HARIKRISHNAN, VASUDEVAN, CHANDRAMOULI, CHOUDHURY, DUTTA & DAS, 2012
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Coryphophylax brevicauda
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Short-tailed Bay Island forest lizard |
| Synonym | Coryphophylax brevicaudus HARIKRISHNAN, VASUDEVAN, CHANDRAMOULI, CHOUDHURY, DUTTA & DAS 2012 |
| Distribution | India (Andaman Islands), elevation 20–350 m. Type locality: Mount Harriet National Park, georeferenced latitude E 11.710579°, longitude N 92.735944°, South Andaman Island, Bay of Bengal, India, ca. 290 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: ZSI (ZSIC) 25962, Adult male. Collected by Harikrishnan S. and S. R. Chandramouli on 21 December 2010. Paratypes: ZSI (ZSIC) 25963 (female), ZSIC 25964 (male), paratopotypes. Collected by S. Harikrishnan and S. R. Chandramouli on 25 June 2010. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: We allocate the new species to the genus Coryphophylax for showing the following suite of morphological characters: exposed tympanum, femoral pores absent, no lateral dermal expansions on body, absence of postorbital spines and lack of cephalic or nuchal spines. The new species bears resemblance to several Asian genera of agamids, including the Malayan Aphaniotis Peters, 1864 and Gonocephalus Kaup, 1825 and the south Asian Otocryptis Wagler, 1830, but whether this is a result of phylogeny or convergent evolution warrants a phylogenetic study of the Southeast Asian agamids. Aphaniotis can be distinguished morphologically from Coryphophylax in having a concealed tympanum, while Gonocephalus includes species with distinct cephalic and/or nuchal spines. Otocryptis can be separated from Coryphophylax in showing a concealed tympanum. Coryphophylax brevicaudus sp. nov. is diagnosed by: small adult size (mean SVL 57.97 mm); a relatively short tail (mean TaL/SVL = 1.93); tail narrows abruptly from base after cloacal opening; mid-body scale count range 110–121; males and females show a nearly uninterrupted flap of skin with small conical spines forming nuchal and dorsal crests; adult colouration reddish-brown or greyish-brown, with or without dark brown markings; presence of a thin yellowish white subocular stripe. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet refers to the short tail in the new species, after Latin “breve, brevis” = short and Latin “cauda” = tail. The species name needs to be brevicauda, according to ICZN Article 34.2.1 which states that the gender of a noun in apposition must not be changed to agree in gender with the generic name, The Latin noun for tail is cauda and of female gender. For further explanations and examples see Böhme & Denzer (2019). |
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