Calotes mystaceus Duméril & Bibron, 1837:

Wagner, Philipp, Ihlow, Flora, Hartmann, Timo, Flecks, Morris, Schmitz, Andreas & Böhme, Wolfgang, 2021, Integrative approach to resolve the Calotes mystaceus Duméril & Bibron, 1837 species complex (Squamata: Agamidae), Bonn zoological Bulletin 70 (1), pp. 141-171 : 157-166

Calotes mystaceus Duméril & Bibron, 1837: 408

( Fig. 2 , Clade D)

Duméril, A. M. C. & G. Bibron (1837). Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Vol. 4. Libr. Encyclopédique Roret, Paris, 570 pp.

Holotype. MNHN 2557 (juvenile male, Fig. 8 A-B), from “Indes orientales (…) pays de Birmans [= Myanmar].”

Original Diagnosis. “ Deux petites épines places l’une après l’autres de chaque côte de la nuque. Un pli oblique en longueur devant l’épaule. Écailles des côtes du tronc grandes; celles du ventre moitié plus petites. Dessus de la base de la queue subanguleux, garni d’écailles seulement un peu plus grandes que celles qui les avoisinent. Fauve en dessus; sous l’oeil une bande jaune qui se prolonge jusque sur l’épaule.”

Revised Diagnosis. Asmall sized Calotes with a maximum known SVL of 101 mm in males and 99 mm in females. Distinguished from all other species of the group by the combination of the following characters: 1) Head and body slender, with long tail and extremities; 2) body scales relatively large in respect to the body size, homogeneous, strongly keeled and arranged in regular rows; 3) upper dorsolateral scales pointing back- and upwards; 4) 44–56 scale rows around midbody; 5) no spines above the tympanum; 6) Vertebral crest, composed of erected spiny scales, directed posteriorly, continuous from above the tympanum to about the insertion of the hindlimbs, but spines becoming abruptly shorter above the insertion of the front limbs; 7) Vertebral scales, including crest spines 38–49 in males and 38–48 in females; 8) oblique skin fold in front of the fore limbs; 10) Head, chest, front limbs, and anterior dorsal crest turquoise; 11) whitish lateral stripe from the snout along the upper lip and the tympanum to behind the insertion of the fore limbs, behind tympanum becoming brownish beige and fusing with beige dorsolateral blotches above front limb insertion; 12) four faint beige dorsolateral blotches.

Male coloration. According to the original description ventral and dorsal parts of the body, tail and limbs brownish. Upper parts of the head olive, chest and throat brownish to yellow. Orange-yellowish stripe from the upper lip crossing the tympanum to the shoulders. More recently collected males ( Figure 8 C) show the head and the anterior of body to the shoulders blue, with a yellowish stripe from the mental towards the upper lips and the tympanum to above and in front of the insertion of the front limbs, followed by indistinct orange blotches.

Variation. Body measurements and meristic characters for adult individuals are given in Table 4 . Specimens ranged in size between the smallest juvenile male with a SVL of 58 mm (CAS 239398) to the largest male with a SVL of 101 mm (BMNH 1891.11.26.18) and the largest female measuring 99 mm (BMNH 1868.4.3.62). In general, adult males and females have the same body proportions. Dorsal coloration differs between sexes with coloration characters generally being lighter in females. Both sexes are able to change their color. Turquoise coloration is restricted to the throat, other parts of the head and body brownish. White lateral stripe present, extending from the mental along the upper lips, becoming beige posterior to tympanum, ending in the first lateral blotch of the same coloration, followed by three blotches of the same color but lighter.

Distribution. With the description of the new species of the group, the distribution of Calotes mystaceus is restricted to the Irrawaddy delta region of coastal southern Myanmar. However, further research is needed to fully clarify the species distributional boundaries.

Ecology. Calotes mystaceus is diurnal and arboreal. The species inhabits forests and more open landscapes with a closed canopy. Mating was observed in September 2014 in a public garden within Yangon (pers. comm. Andreas Hellmann). As in other species of the genus the diet mainly consists of arthropods.

Calotes mystaceus (n = 9): BMNH 1868.4.3.60 , BMNH 1868.4.3.62 , BMNH 1891.11.26.18 , CAS 206548 , CAS 213300 , CAS 239398 , CAS 240287 , CAS 240296 , MNHN 2557 .

Figures

Fig. 2. The Bayesian consensus tree based on 988 bp of mitochondrial DNA (12S rRNA and COI) shows six distinct lineages within Calotes mystaceus. Node support in terms of Bayesian posterior probabilities is indicated by circles at nodes (nodes with a BPP ≥ 0.90 are white, BPP ≥ 0.95 are grey, BPP ≥ 0.99 are black, values <0.90 are not marked). Outgroup (Calotes versicolor) not shown for clarity. Numbers in parentheses behind taxa refer to localities mapped in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8. Calotes mystaceus Duméril & Bibron, 1837. A. Holotype (MNHN 2557, juvenile male), general view from above.B. Holotype, detailed lateral view.C. Adult male from Yangon, eastern Irrawaddy delta, coastal Myanmar, which is within the type locality “pays de Birmans [=Myanmar].”