Calotes versicolor Daudin, 1802

Gowande, Gaurang, Mishra, Anurag & Mirza, Zeeshan A., 2016, Neotype designation for Calotes versicolor Daudin, 1802 (Sauria: Agamidae) with notes on its systematics, Zootaxa 4126 (2), pp. 271-279 : 273-276

Calotes versicolor Daudin, 1802

( Figs. 2–5 )

Agama versicolor Daudin 1802: 395

Agama tiedemanni Kuhl 1820

Agama vultuosa Harlan 1825: 296

Agama indica Gray 1827: 217

Calotes versicolor Duméril & Bibron 1837: 405 Calotes cristatus Jaquemont 1844

Calotes viridis Gray 1846: 429

Calotes gigas Blyth 1853: 648 (nomen dubium) Calotes versicolor Boulenger 1885: 321

Calotes versicolor De Rooij 1915: 124

Calotes versicolor major Annandale 1921 (nomen nudum) Calotes versicolor Smith 1935: 189

Calotes versicolor Taylor 1963: 891

Calotes versicolor Manthey & Grossmann 1997: 163 Calotes versicolor Cox et al. 1998: 96

Calotes versicolor Manthey & Schuster 1999: 35 Calotes versicolor versicolor Manthey 2008: 86 Calotes cf. versicolor Mahony et al. 2009

Calotes versicolor farooqi Auffenberg & Rehmann 1995 Calotes versicolor nigrigularis Auffenberg & Rehmann 1993 Calotes versicolor farooqi Auffenberg &Rehmann 1995 Calotes versicolor nigrigularis Sang et al. 2009: 202 Calotes versicolor farooqi Sang et al. 2009: 202 Calotes versicolor farooqi Masroor 2011

Neotype (here designated). NCBS AT102, male from Pondicherry University Campus, Kalapet, Pondicherry, India (12.029097° N, 79.850343° E, elevation 34m). Collected by Anurag Mishra and Zeeshan A. Mirza on 20 March 2016.

Type locality (by virtue of neotype designation). Pondicherry, India

Etymology. The specific epithet is an adjective referring to variable (versi) colour (color) of the species in life.

Description of neotype male NCBS AT102. The neotype is an adult male measuring 110.1mm SVL in a good condition with small longitudinal incisions on each hind thigh. The tail is entire and the specimen has no evident scar or damage. 38.7 mm SnForel, 50.8 mm TrunkL, 310 mm TailL, 17.8 mm TailH, 12.11 mm TailW, 20.9 mm PectW, 12.5PelvW, 23.3 mm UpArmL, 21.5 mm LoArmL, 12.6 mm 4FingLng, 26 mm UpLegL, 28.1 mm CrusL and 20.3 mm 4ToeLng. Head pentagonal (dorsal outline) covered with heterogeneous, smooth scales juxtaposed in the anterior half to slightly overlapping in the posterior half; 25.8 mm HeadL, 25.6 mm HeadW, 28.3 mm JawW, 18.8 mm HeadH, 11.4 mm SnEye, 21.8 mm NarEye, 8.05 mm EyeEar, 7.5 mm SnW, and 13.9 mm InterOrb.

Colouration in life ( Fig. 2 ): Background colour yellowish, especially the head which is almost pale yellow, upper parts of trunk and tail with bright orange tinge, underparts light yellowish. A series of lateral dorsal scales on the trunk with a dark basal spot forming broken bands across the trunk at fairly regular intervals. Limbs in a shade of brown with randomly placed dark brown to black spots.

Colour in preservative: Coloration faded in preservative. The orange dorsal coloration is reduced to shade of pink, largely restricted to the mid-dorsal crest and three rows bordering these. Head and tail much paler. Two black inter-parietal spots present. Chin whitish with remains of red coloration, throat scales in shade of red, belly scales nearly pinkish with a tinge of brown; underside of tail yellowish brown.

Head distinct from neck ( Fig. 3 A), as long as wide (HeadW/HeadL 0.99), makes up to a large part of the SVL (HeadL/SVL 0.23); snout to eye broadly acute and triangular, snout-tip blunt ( Fig. 4 A); edges of head not parallel, especially posterior to orbital region with a large outward bulge of jaw muscle ( Fig. 2 C). Sides of head flat, dropping from the sharp ridge from the supraciliary along the canthus rostralis up to the edge of supralabials ( Fig. 4 B). Posterior portion of the head roundish with two large sub-conical processes that bear two large temporal spines on each; posterior part of head rotund, formed of muscular bulge of jaw muscles. Large posteriorly oriented scales form serrated edge of the posterior border of the head. Dorsal head scales heterogeneous, those posterior to rostral are small in size, juxtaposed ( Fig. 4 A); these small scales continue to the interparietal in a longitudinal band composed of two to three scale rows, this band of small scales is edged by large scales on both sides of the supraocular area. Posterior to the interparietal, all scales merge into the dorsal trunk scales. Rostral as deep and wide as the adjoining supralabial, 7 SnS; 8/8 elongate, with their ends overlapping, form a sharply folded ridge along the CanthR. Large scales in the supraocular area do not form distinct supraocular plates; 17 HeadSL and 13 HeadSTr. Interparietal, large, sub-pentagonal, with a prominent parietal eye. A fairly large, oval shaped nasal scale perforated by a large naris, nasal scale touching rostral and separated from the labial scales by two rows of scales; loreal and preocular area with small scales, those above supralabials arranged in two parallel longitudinal rows extending to posterior marge of orbit; 11/11 Suplab, eye covered with small, non-granular scales and opening bordered by two rows of eyelid scales, outermost row of ridged scales that are subequal in their length and width and an inner row of smooth flat, wide scales 13/13 Eyelid; postocular and temporal scales nearly of same size as dorsal trunk scales, postocular scales smooth, temporal scales keeled; tympanum large, naked, 3.24 mm in diameter; cluster of spines in supratympanic area, two of these are large, anterior tympanic spine larger, dorsally directed positioned just above the tympanum, posterior spine dorsolaterally directed positioned posterior to the tympanum, tympanic spines separated by four scales; scales 12/12 rectangular Inflab scales along mouth margin; bordered below by 3–4 rows of smooth scales, first row among these scales is the smallest; medially the chin scales triangular, anterior scales smooth and those in the posterior region feebly keeled; single median subtriangular mental scale between left and right Inflab ( Fig. 4 C).

Trunk elongate (Trunk/SVL 0.46, Fig. 5 A), scalation strongly keeled dorsally and laterally; mid-dorsal crest of elongate scales, separated from interparietal by two large and one small scale, dorsal spine scales large, length of dorsal spine scales nearly equal up to vent where the size decreases and eventually flatten out on the tail to merge with adjacent dorsal scales of tail; 36 Dorsal, 42 Midbody ( Fig. 5 A); all trunk scales keeled, increasing in size from neck to trunk; all scales oriented backward and diagonally upwards; scales on dorsum and venter sub-equal; preaxillary scales slightly smaller than dorsal trunk scales, feebly keeled.

Limbs with modest to large scales, scales on dorsal aspect of limbs strongly keeled, those on the underside feebly keeled; scale on palm and heel smaller than adjacent scales; hind leg considerably longer than forelimb (CrusL/SVL 0.26, LoArmL/SVL 0.20) lamellae strongly bicarinate; 10, 15, 21, 21, 14 on manus ( Fig. 5 C) and 12, 17, 23, 28, 16 on pes ( Fig. 5 D); relative length of digits IV (12.1)> III (11.8)> II (8.6)> V (7.1)> I (7) right manus, IV (19.9)> III (16.8)> II (13.7)> V (13.4)> I (7.8).

Tail long, about 2.8 times SVL ( Fig. 3 A–B), oval in cross section near vent; 17–18 scale rows round the tail at base which progressively drop in number; eight dorsal spines extend on tail post vent. Scales similar to trunk scales.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Calotes versicolor neotype male NCBS AT 102 in life.

FIGURE 3. Calotes versicolor neotype male NCBS AT 102, (A) dorsal, (B) ventral. Scale bar 50 mm.

FIGURE 4. Calotes versicolor neotype male NCBS AT 102 head, (A) dorsal, (B) lateral, (C) ventral. Scale bar 10 mm.

FIGURE 5. Calotes versicolor neotype male NCBS AT 102 head, (A) lateral view of body, (B) ventral view of trunk, (C) right manus ventral view, (D) right pes ventral view. Scale bar 10 mm.