Hemidactylus aemulus, Kumar & Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu, 2022

Kumar, Gandla Chethan, Srinivasulu, Aditya & Srinivasulu, Chelmala, 2022, Redescription of Hemidactylus giganteus Stoliczka, 1871 with the description of three new allied species (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820) from peninsular India, Zootaxa 5115 (3), pp. 301-341 : 329-336

Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov.

( Figs. 18–21 ; Table 6 )

Holotype. NHMOU. REP. H107.2015 , adult male, Chandanapalli (17.102500° N, 79.316944° E; 219 m a.s.l.), near Panagal, Nalgonda District , Telangana State, India; collected by Gandla Chethan Kumar & Krishna Prasad Kante on 1st October, 2015.

Paratypes. NHMOU.REP.H106.2015, adult male & NHMOU.REP.H105.2015, adult female, other details as in holotype ; NHMOU.REP.H55.2015, adult male, Chaya Someshwara Temple (17.0775° N, 79.2951° E; 210 m a.s.l.), Udayasamudram , Nalgonda District, Telangana State, India, other details as in holotype .

Additional material. NHMOU.REP.H57.2015, adult male, Fab city (17.19380° N, 78.49282° E; 603 m a.s.l.), Ranga Reddy , Telangana India ; NHMOU.REP.H58.2015, adult male, Khammam Fort ruins, (17.2448° N, 80.1466° E; 142 m a.s.l.), Khammam , Telangana State, India ; NHMOU.REP.H56.2015, adult female & NHMOU.REP. H24.2015, adult female, Edulabad, (17.4125° N, 78.7117° E; 452 m a.s.l.), Telangana State , India ; NHMOU.REP. H31.2015, adult female, Osmania University, (17.41773° N, 78.5320° E; 521 m a.s.l.), Telangana State , India ; NHMOU.REP. H15-2015, adult male, Khammam, (17.24746° N, 80.15245° E; 130 m a.s.l.), Telangana State , India ; all collected by Gandla Chethan Kumar, Krishna Prasad Kante and Devender Gundena between 20th September to 19th October, 2015 ; NHMOU.REP.H76(a), Photo vouchers ( Not collected), adult male & NHMOU.REP.H76(b), Photo vouchers (Not collected), adult female, (17.3983° N, 78.5582° E; 506 m a.s.l.), Uppal , Hyderabad, Telangana State, India ; information collected by Gandla Chethan Kumar and Sandeep Anne.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a Latin nominative adjective meaning ‘imitating’ or ‘emulating’, due to the forms of this species being highly similar to H. giganteus sensu stricto.

Suggested Common Name. Emulous leaf-toed gecko / Emulous rock gecko.

Diagnosis. A large-sized Hemidactylus (SVL averaging 111.85 ± 13.61 mm, n =12; maximum SVL up to 134 mm). Dorsal pholidosis homogenous with more or less uniform, irregularly sized and shaped small granular scales, complete absence of enlarged dorsal tubercles at the midbody. First supralabial is in contact with nasal, but not in contact with nostril. Two well-developed pairs of postmentals, inner pair slightly larger than the outer pair, and in contact with the outer pair. Ventrolateral folds prominent at the neck and axilla, 45–48 scale rows across venter. Enlarged scansors on all digits; 12–13 (manus) and 9–14 (pes) divided scansors beneath first digit, and 12–16 (manus) and 13–17 (pes) beneath the fourth digit; 22–25 femoral pores on each thigh, separated by nine to ten poreless scales in males. Tail depressed, oval in transverse section without a median dorsal furrow; scales on the tail large and imbricate, slightly larger than dorsals of body; ventral scales of tail large and imbricate, separated with medial row of transversely enlarged and regularly arranged subcaudal plates.

Comparison with other congeners. Based on the dorsal pholidosis and general appearance, Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. is most similar to H. giganteus sensu stricto, H. raya sp. nov., and H. saxicolus sp. nov., but differs from them based on 22–25 femoral pores in males on each side of the thigh separated by 9–10 poreless scales (versus 18–23 femoral pores on each side with a gap of 7–8 poreless scales in H. giganteus sensu stricto, 17 femoral pores on each side separated by 7 poreless scales in H. raya sp. nov., and 26–27 femoral pores on each side with a gap of 9 poreless scales in H. saxicolus sp. nov.). Dorsal pholidosis with irregularly sized and shaped granular scales (versus dorsum with small granules, intermixed with 10–12 rows of irregularly arranged, slightly larger, rounded, weakly-keeled tubercles at midbody in H. yajurvedi ; 12–15 rows of irregularly arranged flattened to weekly conical tubercles on the dorsum in H. hemchandrai ), and 22–25 femoral pores in males on each side of the thigh separated by 9–10 poreless scales (versus 10–12 femoral pores on each thigh separated by 5–8 poreless scales in H. yajurvedi , and 10–11 femoral pores on each thigh separated by 5–6 scales in H. hemchandrai ).

Description of holotype (NHMOU.REP.H107.2015). The holotype is a well-preserved specimen, dorsoventrally flattened with original tail intact, partially curved in a sigmoid manner, eyes are slightly sunken; all artefacts of preservation ( Fig. 18 ). Head short (HL/SVL ratio 0.29), elongate (HW/HL ratio 0.77), not strongly depressed (HH/ HL ratio 0.47), relatively broader (HW/BW ratio 0.98), broadly distinct from the neck ( Fig. 19A ). Loreal region slightly inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout short (SE/HL ratio 0.43); longer than eye diameter (SE/OD ratio 2.14). Scales on snout, canthus rostralis, forehead and interorbital region granular, homogeneous; scales on snout, canthus rostralis are twice the size of those on the occipital, frontal and interorbital region ( Fig. 19A&B ). Eye small (OD/HL ratio 0.17); pupil vertical with crenate margins; superciliaries large, mucronate, pointed, slightly larger at the anterior end of orbit. Ear opening small, subcircular to more or less oval in shape (greatest diameter 3.90 mm); eye to ear distance slightly greater than diameter of eye (EE/OD ratio 1.61). Rostral wider (4.55 mm) than deep (2.98 mm); rostrum shallowly notched only near the apex; two enlarged supranasals separated by one smaller intranasal, one postnasal on each side which is slightly smaller than internasal, a single smaller sized postnasal on either side; rostral in contact with nostril, supralabial I not in contact with the nasal. Nostrils large, slightly oval, each surrounded by supranasal, internasal, rostral, supralabial I, and postnasal. Mental enlarged, slightly wider (4.29 mm) than longer (4.11 mm), more or less triangular in shape; two well-developed postmentals, the inner pair shorter (3.44 mm), less wider (2.87 mm) than mental; outer pair more or less of similar size of the inner pair, separated from each other by inner pair; inner postmentals bordered by mental, infralabial I and II, outer postmental, and two gular scales; outer postmental bordered by inner postmental, infralabial II, and three left four right gular scales ( Fig. 19C ). Supralabials (to midorbital position) 13 (right), 12 (left); supralabials (to angle of jaw) 15 (right), 15 (left); infralabials (to angle of jaw) 11 (right), 11 (left).

Body relatively stout, trunk not elongate (TRL/SVL ratio 0.39), with indistinct ventrolateral folds without denticulate scales. Dorsal pholidosis homogenous with more or less uniform, moderately regularly sized and shaped small granular scales ( Fig. 20A ). Ventral scales larger than dorsal, smooth, imbricate, slightly larger on precloacal and femoral region than on chest and abdominal region; midbody scale rows across venter 45; gular region with smaller, granular scales, posterior gular scales slightly larger than the rest ( Fig. 18B ). 25 (left) and 24 (right) femoral pores on each side of the thigh, separated by nine poreless scales ( Fig. 20B ). Scales on the palm and sole smooth, granular, rounded; scales on dorsal aspect of upper arm larger than granules on dorsum and subimbricate, posterior portion of forearm with much smaller, conical and granular scales; anterior portion with much larger, smooth, imbricate scales continuing on the upper part of the hand. Scales on dorsal part of thigh and shank are similar to those on the dorsum, are granular with enlarged, rounded tubercles, which are larger in size on thigh than on shank; the posterior aspect of the thigh lacks enlarged tubercles, while the anterior aspect has larger, smooth, imbricate scales.

Fore- and hindlimbs relatively stout; forearm short (FL/SVL ratio 0.15); tibia short (CL/SVL ratio 0.18). Digits moderately long, strongly clawed; digits I–IV of manus and pes indistinctly webbed; terminal phalanx of all digits curved, arising angularly from distal portion of expanded lamellar pad, half or more than half as long as associated toepad; scansors beneath each toe in straight transverse series, divided except a distal and two to three basal scansors on digit I and one or two in all digits; scansors from proximal-most at least twice the diameter of palmar scales to distal-most single scansor: 14-15-16-16-16 (left manus) and 13-16-15-16-16 (right manus), and 13-18-17-17-18 (left pes) and 13-17-17-17-19 (right pes) ( Fig. 19A&B ). Relative length of digits (measurements in parentheses, in mm): V (9.95)> IV (9.51)> III (9.03)> II (8.92)> I (7.11) (right manus), and V (10.53)> II (10.15)> IV (10.08)> III (9.59)> I (7) (right pes).

Tail intact, with the distal most potion being regenerated; strongly depressed, swollen at the base, flat beneath, verticillate; tail shorter than snout-vent length (TL/SVL ratio 0.81). Tail covered above with small uniform scales ( Fig. 19F ); ventral scales larger, imbricate, median row (subcaudal plate) broader, not extending across width of the tail proximally, but distally they extend almost across the width of the tail ( Fig. 19G ). All subcaudals are regularly arranged in a series.

Colouration in life. Dorsum light to wheat brown with four darker thick wavy bands. The transverse bands are discrete and M-shaped, with brown mid-portions bordered by a darker brown mottling, and then a lighter brown outline, which is thicker on the posterior part of the band. Very indistinct mid-vertebral line is seen only on the trunk. Nape with a small lighter broken transverse band composed of light grey-brown blotches. On either side of the nape, light grey-brown blotches extend from the postorbital region to the first transverse band near the shoulder. Crown with numerous small light greyish brown irregular mottles. Labial scales and infra-orbital regions are pale brown with white mottling. Limbs light to wheatish brown with darker mottling extending up to the digits. Digits with pale greyish-brown bands interspersed by darker brown. A lighter discontinuous transverse band is present on the tail base. Tail similar in colour and pattern to dorsum of the body, interspersed by thick darker brown bands, with a small black-brown blotch at the posterior spur of each band.

Colouration in preservative. The general colouration of the dorsum is light brown, and the sides of the trunk are paler. Bands and markings on the dorsum, forelimbs, and hindlimbs are slightly faded compared to colouration in life, but are still distinct in most specimens. Tail distinctly similar to the body, with bands still clearly visible.

Variation. The morphological data and mensural counts of the specimens collected from the type locality ( Fig. 21A–D ) and specimens from other localities in Telangana State ( Table 6 ) show individual variations. The paratypes and the additional material resemble the holotype in most of the morphological characters except as follows: The specimens ranged in size from 82.00 mm to 133.97 mm. Males have a series of 22–25 femoral pores separated by 9–10 poreless scales. However, most individuals were observed with 23–24 femoral pores on either thigh. In the paratypes, the lamellae on digit I of pes ranged from 9–14 and on digit IV of pes from 13–17.

Distribution. Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. is currently known to be restricted to the Deccan plateau in Telangana State, and occurs on boulders, dilapidated buildings, ruins, and human habitations in multiple locations including Hyderabad city. Due to the overlap in the ranges of H. giganteus sensu stricto and H. aemulus sp. nov., we opine that a detailed study on the populations assigned to Hemidactylus cf. giganteus from the range needs to be taken up.

Natural history. Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. is a rupicolous leaf-toed gecko. It was encountered on rock boulders ( Fig. 21D ), in temple ruins, culverts, dilapidated buildings, and human habitations. In most of the localities it was found sharing its habitat with Hemidactylus treutleri , H. cf. treutleri , H. flaviviridis , H. leschenaultii , and H. cf. gleadowi . It was observed to be highly territorial, displaying frequent neck to neck combat for dominance both among and between sexes.

Figures

FIGURE 18. Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. (holotype, NHMOU.REP.H107.2015, adult male). A) Dorsal view, B) Ventral view. Photo by G. Chethan Kumar. Scale bar = 20 mm.

FIGURE 19. Head of the Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. (holotype, NHMOU.REP.H107.2015, adult male). A) Dorsal view of head, B) Lateral view of head, C) Ventral view of head; D) Ventral view of the right manus; E) Ventral view of the right pes; F) Dorsal view of the tail; and G) Ventral view of the tail. Photo by G. Chethan Kumar. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 20. Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. (holotype, NHMOU.REP.H107.2015, adult male).A) Details of dorsal pholidosis, B) Precloacal region showing a series of 25 femoral pores on left side and 24 femoral pores on right side separated medially by nine poreless scales. Photo by G. Chethan Kumar. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 21. Photographs of Hemidactylus aemulus sp. nov. Paratypes—A) NHMOU.REP.H106.2015, adult male, B) NH- MOU.REP.H55.2015, adult male, C) NHMOU.REP.H105.2015, adult female, and live habitus D) Holotype, NHMOU.REP. H107.2015, adult male. Photo by G. Chethan Kumar.