Hemidactylus kalinga, Mohapatra & Ray & Das & Bhupathi & Sarkar & Mohalik & Nair & Dutta, 2025

Mohapatra, Pratyush P., Ray, Sumidh, Das, Ashis K., Bhupathi, Bharath, Sarkar, Vivek, Mohalik, Rakesh K., Nair, Manoj V. & Dutta, Sushil K., 2025, A new species of Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from the Northern Eastern Ghats, Odisha, India, Herpetozoa 38, pp. 365-378 : 365-378

Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov.

Figs 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ; Tables 3 , 4

Holotype (Figs 3 , 4 ).

• ZSI-R -27672 , adult male, Kalinga Ghati ( 20.1605°N, 84.4133°E; 746 m a. s. l.), Kandhamal District, Odisha State, India; collected by Pratyush P. Mohapatra in May 2016 .

Paratypes (Fig. 5 ).

• ZSI-R -28076 , adult male, Barbara ( 19.8544°N, 85.0240°E; 156 m a. s. l.), Khordha District, Odisha State, India, collected by Pratyush P. Mohapatra and Sushil Kumar Dutta on May 2016 ; • ZSI-R -28932 , adult male, Budhakhol ( 19.8204°N, 84.8235°E; 268 m a. s. l.), Ganjam District, Odisha State, India, collected by Pratyush P. Mohapatra and Ashish K. Das ( Jasmine P. and party) on 1 October 2021 ; • ZSI-R -29007 , adult female, Barbara ( 19.8544°N, 85.0240°E; 156 m a. s. l.), Khordha District, Odisha State, India, collected by Pratyush P. Mohapatra ( Jasmine P. & party) on 28 September 2021 ; • ZSI-R -29247 , 29248, adult females, Mandaragiri ( 20.7997°N, 85.0349°E; 421 m a. s. l.), Angul District, Odisha State, India, collected by Pratyush P. Mohapatra and party on 14 December 2024 .

Suggested common English name.

Kalinga rock gecko.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a toponym for the Kalinga Ghati, the Eastern Ghats hill ranges in the Kandhamal District of Odisha, and the type locality of the species. Furthermore, the present known distribution range of the species is within the historical “ Kalinga Kingdom ”, comprising present-day south Odisha. The specific name is a noun in apposition to the generic name.

Diagnosis.

A large-sized and tuberculated Hemidactylus, SVL up to 105.4 mm (n = 6). Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous, composed of subcircular granular scales intermixed with enlarged, fairly regularly arranged, strongly keeled, conical tubercles in 15–19 longitudinal rows, extending from occiput to tail base, that are heterogeneous in shape and size; enlarged tubercles on the two most medial parasagittal rows smaller, 27–30 tubercles in paravertebral rows; those on dorsolateral aspect of flank largest, gradually decreasing in size downwards, last two rows on flank marginally larger or equal to medial parasagittal rows, weakly keeled. Ventrolateral folds indistinct; about 32–35 scale rows across the belly. Digits with enlarged scansors, lamellae in straight transverse series, all divided except the apical and 1–3 basal lamellae, 9–12 lamellae beneath first digit and 12–14 beneath fourth digit of manus and pes. Males with 22–26 femoral pores on each side separated by five poreless scales. Tail with much enlarged, strongly keeled, conical tubercles forming whorls; median row of subcaudal plates large, covering almost entire portion of the tail; single postcloacal spur of unequal size on each side that are smooth and much smaller than dorsal tubercles at mid-body. Dorsal coloration rusty-brown with four transversely arranged light bands, edged with black or dark brown, between the occiput and sacrum; head lighter than body in life, with a narrow lighted collar edged by dark brown that is continuous with the post-ocular marking.

Description of the holotype.

(Figs 3 , 4 ) The male holotype is in good condition with a slightly curved tail. The head is slightly bent to the right. The tail is also bent to the right and mostly (nearly 80 %) regenerated. There is a 23 mm long incision in the ventral region (for tissue collection).

A large-bodied gecko ( SVL 103.0 mm) with a large head ( HL / SVL ratio 0.3), slightly elongate ( HW / HL ratio 0.8), not strongly depressed (HH / HL ratio 0.5), distinct from the neck. Loreal region slightly inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout short ( ES / HL ratio 0.4); much longer than eye diameter ( ED / ES ratio 0.6); scales on snout, canthus rostralis granular, 2 to 3 times larger than those on interorbital and occipital region, occipital region has intermixed enlarged, keeled, pointed tubercles, which are 3 to 4 times larger than adjacent granules. Eye small (OD / HL ratio 0.3); pupil vertical with serrated margins; supraciliaries small, pointed, those at the anterior end of orbit slightly larger, posterior half with smaller spinose scales. Ear opening oval (greatest height 2.3 mm); eye to ear distance slightly greater than diameter of eye ( EE / OD ratio 1.1). Rostral incompletely divided dorsally by weakly developed rostral groove; internasals separated by a single small scale, one supranasal and one postnasal on each side, all subequal; rostral in contact with supralabial I, nostril, internasals and scale separating the internasals; nostrils large ( 0.7 mm), subcircular, each surrounded by rostral, supralabial I, postnasal, supranasal and internasal; 5 to 6 rows of scales separate orbit from supralabials, single row of enlarged elongate scales bordering supralabials. Mental triangular, broader ( 4.4 mm) than high ( 3.7 mm), two pairs of postmentals, inner pair slightly shorter ( 3.6 mm) than mental and broadly in contact with each other ( 1.7 mm); outer post mental fairly smaller than inner post mental ( 2.2 mm), undivided. Inner postmentals bordered by mental, infralabial I, outer postmentals and 4 gular scales; outer postmentals bordered by inner postmental, infralabial I and II and 8 gular scales on either side, of which outer row continues as a single row of enlarged scales below infralabials. About 2–7 rows of scales below infralabials III to VIII are enlarged and weakly imbricate. Supralabials (to midorbital position) 9 (right), 10 (left); supralabials (to angle of jaw) 13; supralabials (below orbit) 6; infralabials (to angle of jaw) 10.

Body relatively stout, not elongate (TRL / SVL ratio 0.4), with indistinct ventrolateral folds. Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous, composed of conical, granular scales intermixed with enlarged, relatively regularly arranged, longitudinal rows of 17 trihedral, strongly keeled tubercles at midbody, extending from occiput onto the tail, each enlarged tubercle roughly 4–7 times longer than adjacent granules, surrounded by 16–20 small granules, 2–4 granules separate adjacent enlarged tubercles; 28 rows of para-vertebral tubercles between occiput sinus and middle of sacrum; enlarged tubercles similar in size except those on most medial rows less than half the size of adjacent tubercle; shape of enlarged tubercles on back homogenous except those on flanks conical; enlarged tubercles on nape slightly smaller and more conical than those of back; tubercles on occipital and temporal region much smaller, strongly pointed. Ventral scales larger than dorsal granules, smooth, imbricate, slightly larger on femoral and largest on precloacal region; midbody scale rows across belly 32; longitudinal ventral scales from mental to cloaca 160; gular region with granular scales that are smaller than ventrals; 7 transverse ventral scales present within the eye diameter.

Scales on the palm and sole smooth, granular, rounded; dorsal aspect of manus and pes heterogenous, granular with densely packed enlarged tubercles, upper arm with a few granular scales which are larger than granules on dorsum intermixed with much larger tubercles; dorsal aspect of forearm predominantly bearing much larger, flattened, strongly keeled tubercles; scales on elbow are strongly keeled and conical, slightly smaller than the enlarged tubercles on the upper arm; those on dorsal aspect of thigh heterogeneous with a few granular scales which are similar to those on dorsum, intermixed with much larger trihedral tubercles which are slightly larger than enlarged dorsal tubercles; tubercles on the back of the thigh much smaller, conical and sparsely spaced; large trihedral tubercles on dorsal aspect of shank slightly smaller than those on dorsum of thigh, intermixed with a few granular scales; scales on knee are strongly keeled and conical, ~ 2 times larger than adjacent granules. 22 (left) / 23 (right) femoral pores in slightly enlarged row of scales, separated medially by five poreless scales. Fore- and hind limbs relatively short, stout; forearm short ( FL / SVL ratio 0.1); tibia short ( CL / SVL ratio 0.2); digits moderately short, strongly clawed; all digits of manus and digits I – IV of pes indistinctly webbed; terminal phalanx of all digits curved, arising angularly from distal portion of expanded lamellar pad or scansor, half or more than half as long as associated toepad; lamellae beneath each toe in straight transverse series, divided except for three to four basal scansors on digit I and single distal on all digits and some single basal ones too; scansors from proximal most at least twice diameter of palmar scales to distal most single scansor: 10-12 - 12 - 13 - 11 (right manus), 11-12 - 13 - 13 - 12 (left manus), 10-13 - 14 - 14 - 12 (right pes), 10-13 - 14 - 13 - 13 (left pes). Relative length of digits (measurements in mm in parentheses): IV (10.31)> III (9.77)> II (9.36)> V (8.64)> I (8.06) (left manus); III (11.04)> IV (10.90)> II (10.27)> V (10.06)> I (8.34) (left pes). Tail depressed, flat beneath, verticillate, with well-defined median furrow; length of the regenerated tail slightly shorter than snout-vent length ( TL / SVL ratio <1.0); scales on the tail subimbricate, slightly conical and keeled, larger than granules on dorsum, with a series of much enlarged, strongly pointed and keeled conical tubercles, lateral row on both sides slightly elongated and weakly keeled; ventral scales enlarged, imbricate, median row (subcaudal plates) covering almost entire base of the tail after five rows of smaller scales, with two rows of larger pointed, smooth, imbricate scales on lateral aspects.

Colouration.

Body colour olive brown with four distinct bands, bordered with dark brown wavy lines. The first band is on the shoulder, the second after the axilla, the third band is posterior to the mid-body and the fourth appears at the groin. On the tail, a band, similar to the body, appears at the base of the tail. Head and limbs same colour as the body. Toes and ankles have light banding patterns. A dark post-ocular line passes at the temporal region just above the tympanum and approaches towards the nape forming an indistinct border line on the head. Ventral side is off-white or light-brown. In preservative, the ground colour is faded, but the patterns are visible.

Variations.

Mensural data for the type series is given in Table 3 and Fig. 5 . There are five paratypes ( two males and three females) ranging in SVL from 88.5 mm to 105.4 mm. They agree with the description of the holotype in most of the morphological characters except as follows: infralabials 9–11; scales across midbody 33–35; dorsal tubercle rows 15–19; longitudinal ventral scales 151–174; femoral pores 23–26. Colourations of paratypes are variable from that of the holotype. The paratype from Budhakhol ( ZSI-R -28932 ) is lighter in colour, without any prominent bands on the body. Uncollected juveniles are of darker colouration with more pronounced bands on the body and tail (Fig. 6 A ).

Distribution and natural history.

Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov. is endemic to the Eastern Highlands biogeographic province of the Deccan Peninsula biogeographic zone ( Rodgers et al. 2000) and has been recorded from the forest tracts in the northern Eastern Ghats range of Odisha. The northernmost distribution is north of the River Mahanadi, within 50 km of the river, which is also considered a part of the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt. This species was found to be common in the rocky outcrops in the Kandhamal hills of Kandhamal district, in the Barbara Reserve Forest of Khurdha district, in the Mandaragiri hills of Angul district, and also in the Bhanjanagar tracts of Ganjam district. This species is most likely distributed in the Lakhari Valley and Kotagarh Wildlife Sanctuaries of the Ganjam and Kandhamal districts, respectively, and has also been observed in the Balangir district. Although there are several instances in which similar-looking, large-bodied Hemidactylus sp. have been encountered in Ganjam district and further south in Odisha in Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Kalahandi, and Phulbani districts; in central Odisha in Cuttack and Nayagarh districts; and in Sambalpur district of western Odisha, we refrain from assigning them to this species, as we are not yet certain about the taxonomic identity of those populations. These will be dealt with in subsequent works.

The new species is predominantly found in dry and moist deciduous forests with rocky outcrops (Fig. 7 A, B ). The areas in which this species occurs are at mid-elevations ( 156–746 m a. s. l.), and it prefers large boulders in cooler areas, covered with large trees or situated in riparian zones. The type locality is a riparian forest near a temple at a ghat section just adjacent to NH 157. Within its distribution range, the new species is sympatric with other geckos such as Calodactylodes aureus (Beddome, 1870) , Cyrtodactylus nebulosus (Beddome, 1870) , Hemidactylus flaviviridis Ruppell, 1835 , H. frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836 , H. leschenaultii Duméril & Bibron, 1836 , and H. parvimaculatus Deraniyagala, 1953 . Based on our observations, this species was found to be feeding on various arthropods and their larvae. One individual was observed feeding on the mole cricket Gryllotalpa africana (Palisot de Beauvois, 1805) in the Budhakhol area, locating the movement of the insect on the ground (Fig. 6 B ).

Figures

Figure 2. Maximum-likelihood consensus tree based on the mitochondrial ND 2 gene of the Hemidactylus prashadi clade and the outgroups. Numbers by the nodes indicate ML bootstrap support values.

Figure 3. Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov. (holotype, ZSI-R - 27672) showing the dorsal and ventral sides.

Figure 4. Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov. (holotype, ZSI-R - 27672) A. Dorsal, ventral, and lateral view of head; B. View of cloacal region showing femoral pores; and C. Digits showing lamellae. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figure 5. Full-body view of all the paratypes of Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov. A. Dorsal; B. Ventral. Scale bar: 20 mm.

Figure 6. Live uncollected specimen of Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov. A. Juveniles showing variant colouration; B. An individual preying on Gryllotalpa africana.

Figure 7. Habitat of Hemidactylus kalinga sp. nov. (A) type locality in Kalinga Ghati, Odisha; (B) paratype locality in Budhakhol, Odisha.