Cyrtodactylus exercitus PURKAYASTHA, LALREMSANGA, LITHO, RATHEE, BOHRA, MATHIPI, BIAKZUALA & MUANSANGA, 2022
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Cyrtodactylus exercitus
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Cyrtodactylus exercitus PURKAYASTHA, LALREMSANGA, LITHO, RATHEE, BOHRA, MATHIPI, BIAKZUALA & MUANSANGA 2022 |
| Distribution | India (Meghalaya) Type locality: Umroi, Ri-Bhoi District in Meghalaya, |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MZMU 2542 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. is a moderate-sized gecko (adult SVL 48.2–68.0 mm); 9–11 supralabials; 9–10 infralabials; dorsal tubercles are rounded, bluntly conical and feebly keeled in 21–24 longitudinal rows; 32–34 paravertebral tubercles between the level of the axilla and the level of the groin; 35–37 midventral scale rows; 11–15 precloacal pores in males; 16–17 subdigital lamellae under IV toe; no single row of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; dorsal markings are dark brown, irregular blotches with a distinctive white posterior border; tail with alternating dark and light bands. (PURKAYASTHA et al. 2022) Comparisons: Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. is a moderate-sized gecko (adult SVL 48.2–68.0 mm); 9–11 supralabials; 9–10 infralabials; dorsal tubercles are rounded, bluntly conical and feebly keeled in 21–24 longitudinal rows; 32–34 paravertebral tubercles between the level of the axilla and the level of the groin; 35–37 midventral scale rows; 11–15 precloacal pores in males; 16–17 subdigital lamellae under IV toe; no single row of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; dorsal markings are dark brown, irregular blotches with a distinctive white posterior border; tail with alternating dark and light bands. 72.0 mm in C. nagalandensis, 90.0 mm in C. tamaiensis, and 74.0 mm in C. urbanus. Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. has 11–15 PcP in males vs 7–8 PcP in C. aaronbaueri, 6–10 PcP in C. arunachalensis, 5–7 PcP in C. bengkhuaiai, 8–9 PcP in C. brevidactylus, 6–9 PcP in C. cayuensis, 10 PcP in C. himalayicus, 7 PcP in C. markuscombaii, 0–8 PcP in C. martinstolli, 8–10 PcP in C. montanus, 34–38 PcFP in C. karsticola, 26–39 PcFP in C. guwahatiensis, 29–37 PcFP in C. tripuraensis, 40 PcFP in C. tamaiensis, 16–29 PcFP in C. gansi; 21–24 rows of feebly keeled tubercles in the dorsum vs 27–30 rows in C. brevidactylus, 16–20 rows in C. chrysopylos, 19–20 rows in C. jaintiaensis, 18 rows in C. mandalayensis, 14–15 rows in C. markuscombaii,16–18 rows in C. nagalandensis and 19–21 rows in C. tripuraensis, 35–37 rows of scales between the ventrolateral folds vs 38 rows in C. arunachalensis, 47–49 rows in C. aunglini, 28–34 rows in C. cayuensis, 39–55 rows in C. chrysopylos, 30–35 rows in C. guwahatiensis, 33–34 rows in C. himalayicus, 40–42 rows in C. jaintiaensis, 37–43 rows in C. kazirangaensis, 32 rows in C. mandalayensis, 38–39 rows in C. markuscombaii, 57 rows in C. myaleiktaung, and 30–34 rows in C. urbanus. Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. has 16–17 subdigital lamellae beneath fourth toe vs 19–23 subdigital lamellae in C. aunglini and C. chrysopylos, 18–19 in C. brevidactylus, 10 in C. himalayicus and C. gansi, 19–22 in C. khasiensis and C. mombergi, 13 in C. martinstolli, and 18 in C. myaleiktaung. Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. has 9–11 paired dark blotches on the dorsum vs 7–8 C. gansi, 6–7 in C. kazirangaensis, 6 in C. myaleiktaung and 6–8 in C. urbanus. Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. can further be differentiated from C. agarwali and C. bapme by having a higher TRL/SVL ratio (min. 0.45 max. 0.57 avg. 0.51 vs min. 0.42 max. 0.48 avg. 0.45 in C. agarwali; min. 0.43 max. 0.47 avg. 0.45 in C. bapme). The presence of 32–34 rows of paravertebral tubercles between the level of axilla and groin separates Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. from C. aaronbaueri (36–39 rows), C. agarwali (34–38 rows), C. aunglini (36–45), C. bengkhuaiai (35–41), C. karsticola (34–39 rows), C. kazirangaensis (36–38), C. mombergi (35–42), C. montanus (37–43), C. nagalandensis (35–37) and C. septentrionalis (38–42 rows). Furthermore, Cyrtodactylus exercitus sp. nov. has small uniform scales on the underside of the tail, whereas C. cayuensis, C. khasiensis, and C. martinstolli have an enlarged median scale line. (PURKAYASTHA et al. 2022) |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named in honor of the Indian army. The specific epithet ‘exercitus’ is used as a noun in apposition. |
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