Cyrtodactylus tripuraensis Agarwal, 2018

Hakim, Jonathan, Trageser, Scott J., Ghose, Animesh, Rashid, Sheikh Muhammad Abdur & Rahman, Shahriar Caesar, 2020, Amphibians and reptiles from Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh, Check List 16 (5), pp. 1239-1268 : 1250-1251

Cyrtodactylus tripuraensis Agarwal, 2018

Figure 6A

Material examined. BANGLADESH • 1 adult; Syl- het Division, Moulvibazar District , Kamalganj Upazila, LNP, trail near visitor center; 24°18.73′N, 091°46.75′E; 21 Jun. 2015; 22:56; photo voucher ZRC ( IMG) 2.348 . • 1 adult; Sylhet Division, Moulvibazar District , Kamalganj Upazila, LNP, trail near visitor center; 24°18.79′N, 091° 46.73′E; 4 Jul. 2015; 20:53; photo voucher ZRC ( IMG) 2.349 . • 1 adult; Sylhet Division, Moulvibazar District, Kamalganj Upazila, LNP, trail at Lawachara Station ; 24° 19.79′N, 091°47.18′E; 19 Jun. 2014; photo voucher ZRC ( IMG) 2.350 . • 1 adult; Sylhet Division, Moulvibazar District, Kamalganj Upazila, LNP, trail at Lawachara Station ; 24°19.79′N, 091°47.03′E; 19 Jun. 2014; photo voucher ZRC ( IMG) 2.351 .

Identification. Our specimens of this ground-dwelling gecko could be distinguished from most other members of the genus by a dorsal pattern of 9–10 paired dark rectangular markings bordered on posterior by light bands, light bands on tail much narrower than dark blotches, greenish-gold iris, 32–34 ventral scale rows, six wid- ened subdigital lamellae, a single pair of postmentals in broad contact, no precloacal groove, and presence in lowland habitat ( Bauer 2003). Female geckos recorded at our site had 18-26 precloacal-femoral pores, aligning them with C. tripuraensis as opposed to C. ayeyarwadyensis Bauer, 2003 according to Agarwal et al.’s (2018) key (19–29 precloacal-femoral pores for C. tripuraensis females, precloacal-femoral pores absent in C. ayeyarwadyensis females).

Taxonomic notes. Al-Razi et al. (2018) were the first to confirm C. tripuraensis in Bangladesh. They found 34 precloacal-femoral pores in a male specimen from LNP, within the range of 29–37 precloacal-femoral pores in male C. tripuraensis as opposed to 10–28 in C. ayeyarwadyensis . The LNP locality was 40 km northwest of the closest previously known record in Tripura, India.

Habitat. This gecko was primarily observed in mature

forest, though JH found one specimen under a log in tea plantation. During the day it was found under logs and buried in leaf litter, often on side-hills, while at night it could be seen crawling across dirt and leaf litter, on top of logs, and on vegetation to a height of about 1 m. Unlike most other Cyrtodactylus but similarly to its closest relative C. ayeyarwadyensis ( Agarwal 2014) , C. tripuraensis in LNP does not rely on rocky habitats.