You are here » home advanced search Hemidactylus rishivalleyensis

Hemidactylus rishivalleyensis AGARWAL, THACKERAY & KHANDEKAR, 2020

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Hemidactylus rishivalleyensis?

Add your own observation of
Hemidactylus rishivalleyensis »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaGekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Rishi Valley rock gecko 
SynonymHemidactylus rishivalleyensis AGARWAL, THACKERAY & KHANDEKAR 2020
Hemidactylus treutleri — SREEKAR et al. 2010 [part]
Hemidactylus treutleri — LAJMI et al. 2016 
DistributionIndia (Andhra Pradesh: Chittoor district)

Type locality: Cave Rock Hill, Rishi Valley school (13.632° N 78.457° E; ca. 730 m asl.), Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh state, India  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype. NCBS-BH728 (AK 649), adult male, collected by Akshay Khandekar, Ishan Agarwal, Nikhil Gaitonde and Joshua Muyiwa on 12 March 2019.
Paratypes. NCBS-BH731 (AK 650), NCBS-BH732 (AK 651), adult males, NCBS-BH729 (AK 647), NCBS- BH730 (AK 648), NCBS-BH733 (AK 652), NCBS-BH734 (AK 653), NCBS-BH735 (AK 654) adult females, same collection data as holotype. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A medium-sized Hemidactylus, SVL to at least 63 mm (n=8). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous,
composed of subcircular granular scales intermixed with 15 or 16 fairly regularly arranged longitudinal rows of much enlarged, strongly keeled, pointed tubercles that are heterogeneous in shape and size, extending from occiput to tail; 17–22 tubercles in paravertebral rows. Ventrolateral folds indistinct; about 30–35 scale rows across the venter. Digits with enlarged scansors, lamellae in straight transverse series, all divided except the apical and a few basal that are undivided, nine (manus) and nine or ten (pes) lamellae beneath fourth digit and six or seven (manus and pes) beneath first digit. Males with 10–12 femoral pores on each side separated by nine or ten poreless scales. Original tail depressed, scales on dorsal aspect heterogeneous, slightly larger than granular scales on dorsum, granular, intermixed with a longitudinal series of 4–6 much enlarged, strongly pointed, keeled tubercles; single median row of enlarged subcaudal plates covering almost entire tail venter except a single row closest to vent divided, bordered laterally by single row of larger pointed, smooth, imbricate scales; three enlarged postcloacal spurs on both sides, anterior and middle spurs similar to each other in size and shape and marginally smaller than dorsal tubercles; posterior spur largest, at least thrice the size of anterior. Dorsal coloration beige, numerous scattered dark and light blotches on dorsum. 
Comment 
EtymologyThe specific epithet is a toponym for the Rishi Valley, the type locality for the new species. 
References
  • AGARWAL, I., THACKERAY, T., & KHANDEKAR, A. 2020. Geckos in the granite: two new geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from rocky, scrub habitats in Rishi Valley, Andhra Pradesh, India. Zootaxa 4838 (4): 451-474 - get paper here
  • Ganesh S.R., Bubesh Guptha 2021. Herpetological diversity in the Central Eastern Ghats, Peninsular India. Journal of Animal Diversity 3 (3): 18-44 - get paper here
  • Lajmi, Aparna; Varad B. Giri & K. Praveen Karanth 2016. Molecular data in conjunction with morphology help resolve the Hemidactylus brookii complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae). Org Divers Evol, DOI 10.1007/s13127-016-0271-9 - get paper here
  • Sreekar, Rachakonda; Shreekant Deodhar and Yashada Kulkarni. 2010. Predation on Hemidactylus treutleri (Squamata: Gekkonidae) by the peninsular rock agama Psammophilus dorsalis (Squamata: Agamidae) in Rishi Valley, Andhra Pradesh, India. Herpetology Notes 3: 33-35.
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator