Ophisops pushkarensis, Agarwal & Khandekar & Ramakrishnan & Vyas & Giri, 2018

Agarwal, Ishan, Khandekar, Akshay, Ramakrishnan, Uma, Vyas, Raju & Giri, Varad B., 2018, Two new species of the Ophisops microlepis (Squamata: Lacertidae) complex from northwestern India with a key to Indian Ophisops, Journal of Natural History 52 (13 - 16), pp. 819-847 : 833-839

Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov.

Pushkar small-scaled snake-eye

Figures 4–7 , 9

Ophisops microlepis (non Blanford 1870)

Holotype. BNHS 2031 , adult female, near Pushkar (26.49318°N 74.56021°E; 505 m asl), Rajasthan, India, collected by A. Datta-Roy, T. Khichi and I. Agarwal 25 September 2009.

Paratypes. NCBS AU749, adult female, near Ajmer (26.44638°N 74.68600°E; 525 m asl), Rajasthan, India, collected by V . Deepak on 17 May 2014; NCBS AU750, NCBS AU754, adult males & NCBS AU751– 753 adult females, near Ajmer (26.42913°N 74.67100°E, 520 m asl), Rajasthan, India, collected by A . Khandekar and C . Daniel, on 22 April 2017.

Etymology. The name is for the type locality of the new species, Pushkar, in Rajasthan, India.

Diagnosis. Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from Indian congeners by the same characters that diagnose O. microlepis – large body size (SVL up to 62.7 mm), 57–62 scales around midbody and 133–148 DS (see diagnosis for O. microlepis for opposing character states in other Ophisops spp. ). Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov. is most closely related to O. microlepis and the new species described below (diagnosis against the new species provided after its description). Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from O. microlepis by its higher number of dorsal scales (mean number of DS 139.1, range 133–148 versus 129.6, 122–136); the head relatively longer (HL 23.8% SVL, 21.1–25.0% versus HL 21.3% SVL, 20.1–22.0%) and narrower (HW/ HL 0.544, 0.519–0.591 versus 0.603, 0.570–0.630).

Description of holotype. Adult female in relatively good condition apart from minor artefacts of preservation: left fore limb slightly extended, tail slightly sigmoid, tail tip collected as tissue sample, second finger on right manus without claw. SVL 62.7 mm. Head short (HL/SVL = 0.21), longer than wide (HL/HW = 1.63), not strongly depressed (HD/HL = 0.50), indistinct from neck. Loreal region slightly concave, canthus rostralis sharp. Snout acute (IN/IO = 0.27), slightly projecting beyond lower jaw. Eye small (ED/ HL = 0.15); pupil round; supraciliary scales distinct, elongate, four on either side. Tympanum elongate, small (EL/HD = 0.26), covered anteriorly by a single scale, slightly larger than ear opening; eye to ear distance more than twice eye diameter (EE/OD = 2.23). Nostril circular, dorsolaterally oriented, closer to the snout tip than to eye (NE/SE = 0.80) and between three protuberant nasals. Body slender (BW/ SVL = 0.23), trunk not elongate (TRL/SVL = 0.43). Incomplete tail slightly longer than SVL (TL/SVL = 1.11). Fore limbs and hind limbs relatively well developed and slender; forearm short (FL/SVL = 0.13); tibia short (CL/SVL = 0.19); digits long and slender, ending in a sharp and slightly curved claw; subdigital lamellae distinct, entire, distinctly keeled, bicarinate on both manus and pes; number of subdigital lamellae including claw sheath: left manus 8–12-17–17-11; right manus 8–13-17–17-11; left pes 8–13-18–23-14; right pes 8–12-18–23-14. Relative length of digits (measurements in mm in parentheses, * denotes damaged digit): right manus I (2.3) <II (3.9*) <V (4.1) <III (6.4) <IV (6.8); right pes I (3.7) <II (5.8) <V (7.7) <III (9.6) <IV (13.7).

Rostral wider (2.5 mm) than high (1.0 mm), wedged between supranasals dorsally, in contact with first supralabials, nasals and supranasals. Paired supranasals roughly triangular, in contact medially, strongly in touch with slightly larger nasal laterally and smaller postnasals posteriolaterally. Frontonasal roughly hexagonal, similar in width (2.2 mm) and length (2 mm), strongly in contact with supranasals anteriorly; postnasals anteriolaterally and anterior loreal laterally.

A pair of roughly pentagonal prefrontals, in strong contact with each other medially, frontonasal anteriorly, and the posterior loreals laterally; in weak contact with the anterior loreals laterally and posteriorly in strong contact with first anterior supraocular and frontal.

Frontal approximately pentagonal with slightly curved posterior margin, elongate (3.9 mm), becoming broader anteriorly; in strong contact with prefrontals anteriorly, laterally touching first, second and third supraoculars, and posteriorly in strong contact with frontoparietals. A pair of frontoparietals, roughly pentagonal, in contact with each other medially, anteriorly in strong contact with frontal, laterally touching third and fourth supraoculars, posteriolaterally touching parietals, posteriorly interparietal. Interparietal divided horizontally into a large anterior scale and smaller posterior; anterior one large, roughly pentagonal with distinct pineal eye, anteriorly in strong contact with frontoparietals, laterally touching parietals, posterior one much smaller, in contact with parietal laterally and occipital posteriorly. A pair of parietals, pentagonal, longer (3.7 mm) than broad (2.4 mm), separated from each other by interparietals, anteriorly in strong contact with fourth supraocular and frontoparietal on both sides, laterally touching three supratemporals on both sides. Occipital roughly triangular, broader than wide, in contact with parietals and posterior interparietal. Four supraoculars, the first and fourth smallest, separated from supraciliaries by a single row of 15 supraciliary granules on both sides ( Figure 6 ).

Nostril circular, situated on contact line between nasal and supranasal. Postnasals smaller than the anterior loreal, bordered by frontonasal, supranasal, nasal and anterior loreal. Two loreals, anterior roughly rectangular and about the size of nasal, bordered by posterior loreal, prefrontal, frontonasal, postnasal, nasal, supralabials I and II; posterior loreal much larger than anterior, slightly smaller than prefrontal, becoming broader posteriorly, bordered by preoculars, supraciliary I, prefrontal, anterior loreal, supralabial II, III and IV. Preocular slightly smaller than anterior loreal, roughly rectangular. Eight supralabials, V being largest and forming the lower border of the eye, gradually decreasing in size in either direction. Three moderately enlarged postoculars, the most dorsal the largest. Three supratemporals on the right and four on the left, the most anterior the largest. Temporal scales much smaller than postoculars, smooth, subimbricate, arranged in two to eight rows, those bordering supralabials largest.

Six infralabials on either side. Mental large, as wide (2.2 mm) as long (2.4 mm), in strong contact with infralabial I and first pair of chin shields. Six chin shields on either side, gradually increasing in size posteriorly, except the posterior-most, which is half the size of its adjacent chin shield, three anterior chin shields strongly in contact with each other medially, posterior three separated from each other by gular scales.

Dorsal pholidosis heterogeneous in shape, size, orientation and carination; composed of smaller, weakly pointed, imbricate scales throughout, 58 scales in a transverse row across midbody; 135 scales in longitudinal, vertebral series; scales on dorsal aspect strongly keeled, directed backwards and downwards, those on flanks smooth, directed backwards and upwards; scales on the neck smaller, gradually increasing in size posteriorly and laterally, most posterior two to three rows on flank largest. Ventral scales smooth, heterogeneous, arranged in six transverse rows on belly, midventral series with 34 scales in a longitudinal series; gular scales smaller, elongate, subimbricate, those on neck slightly larger than gular scales, weakly pointed and imbricate; scales on pectoral region larger than those on neck, strongly imbricate; those on belly much enlarged, subimbricate, rectangular, except single outermost row on either side cycloid. Indistinct collar, vaguely defined by a fold of skin with granular scales on shoulders and larger cycloid imbricate scales ventrally. Preanal scale large, elongate, smooth, anteriorly bordered by five and surrounded by two-to three rows of cycloid, imbricate scales of variable size, those on posterior aspect smallest. Femoral pores 15 on either side, medially interrupted by two poreless scales.

Scales on the fore limbs heterogeneous in shape and size, those on the palmar and plantar faces slightly smaller than the associated lamellae, imbricate, strongly keeled. Scales on dorsal surface of upper arm much larger than those on body dorsum, weakly pointed, strongly imbricate, smooth, except those on elbow, which are keeled. Ventral surface of upper arm with smaller, smooth, subimbricate scales. Scales on forearms similar to those on upper arms except three rows on anterior surface larger and smooth, of which single median row much enlarged, subimbricate and almost rhombus shaped.

Scales on hind limbs heterogeneous in shape and size, posterior surface of the thigh with much smaller, granular scales, becoming enlarged, pointed, strongly keeled, imbricate towards anterior surface, ventral surface of thigh covered with three to four rows of much enlarged, smooth, strongly imbricate scales, with anteriormost single row largest and rhombus shaped; scales on dorsal surface of shank like those on forearm but smaller in size, ventral aspect of shank covered with two rows of much enlarged, imbricate, smooth scales, of which the median row is largest and rhombus shaped.

Scales on the dorsal and lateral aspect of the unregenerated tail arranged in regular whorls, cycloid at the base, becoming gradually elongated distally, strongly keeled, imbricate and pointed, 16 scales in the 10th whorl behind the vent. Ventral aspect of the tail with strongly imbricate scales, weakly pointed except single median row, which is slightly smaller, more elongated and roughly triangular; scales near the base of the tail smooth, gradually becoming weakly keeled towards tip of the tail.

Colouration in life. Dorsal ground colour coffee brown, two prominent lighter lateral stripes, a dorsolateral stripe extending from behind the eye onto the tail, and a ventrolateral stripe that runs from the labials, just above the forearm insertion and terminating at the groin. Dorsolateral stripe buff to tan anteriorly, transitioning to slightly darker tan/ochre posteriorly; ventrolateral stripe dirty white. Interspaces between dorsolateral and ventrolateral stripes heavily mottled with darker and lighter markings, anterodorsal margin of dorsolateral line with mainly darker mottling extending up to 2× width of the dorsolateral line, markings on each side well separated from one another in the vertebral region. Flanks, below ventrolateral stripe, with marbled lighter and darker markings, some enlarged scales with yellow-green markings. Limbs slightly washed out relative to dorsum, with scattered, irregular lighter and darker markings, largest and most prominent on femur. Head dorsum suffused with scattered, indistinct black markings, labials with black blotches, temporal region with darker markings, iris copper. Venter immaculate white. Dorsolateral stripes meet on the tail, flanked by narrow darker markings that fade to white on the tail venter.

Colouration in preservative. Similar to life colouration, except colours faded and shades of yellow completely lost.

Variation and additional information from type series. Mensural data for the type series and additional material are given in Table 2. There are three male and two female specimens ranging in size from 54.3 mm to 62.7 mm. The paratypes are similar to the holotype in most characters, except, VG 0338 has seven infralabials on both sides; supratemporal scales – two on both sides in VG 0336, VG 0337, four on left and three on right side in VG 0338, three on either side in VG 0335, three on left and two on right in CES 458; scales in a transverse row across midbody – 57 in VG 339 and 62 VG 0338; femoral pores – 16 on either side in VG 0335; supralabial II and III touching posterior loreal on right in VG 0337 and on both sides in VG 0338; postoculars – two on both sides in VG 0335; occipital broken in VG 0337. Extent of irregular dorsal markings variable, most prominent in VG 0335 and VG 0339 and least distinct in VG 0338 and CES 459.

Notes. Specimens from Jessore Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat (BNHS 1726, BNHS 1727 and NCBS AU701) are allocated to this species in the absence of molecular data based on the high number of dorsal scales in longitudinal, vertebral series (142 DS versus DS 139.1, range 133–148 in O. pushkarensis sp. nov.) and morphometric data ( Figure 2 ); even though the ventrolateral stripe is not very distinct in BNHS 1726. Confirming our allocation of these specimens to O. pushkarensis sp. nov. requires additional samples and genetic data. The specimen from Ajmer reported by Sharma et al. (2015) is likely to be a member of the new species based on its locality and general appearance in the low-resolution photographs provided. However, their record of cannibalism may have been of predation by O. pushkarensis sp. nov. upon O. jerdonii (based on the apparently large dorsal scales of a photograph of the partially digested lizard in Sharma et al. 2015). Records from Jodhpur and Pali District are likely to represent the new species ( Figure 1 ), but require verification with specimen data.

Distribution and natural history. Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov. has been collected from rocky and sandy open scrub habitats around Pushkar and Ajmer ( Figure 8 ) at elevations between 505 and 525 m asl. The other localities around Jessore, Gujarat are ~ 300 km southwest of the type locality and at somewhat lower elevations (200–215 m asl). BNHS 2031 was gravid when collected in July 2009 and laid 10 eggs in captivity. This diurnal species has been observed active in April, May and July; though it is likely to be seen throughout the year except outside peak winter.

Figures

Figure 1. Relief map of India showing the known distribution of the Ophisops microlepis complex. Bold lines designate international borders, fine lines show Indian state borders. Solid symbols indicate sampled localities (numbers referenced in Table 1) and white-filled symbols previously published localities or visual records; stars indicate the distribution of Ophisops microlepis, squares Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov., triangles Ophisops kutchensis sp. nov.; hollow circles represent literature records of members of the O. microlepis complex not assigned to a species. Inset left, maximum likelihood phylogeny of the O. microlepis complex (cytochrome b, bootstrap support> 75% depicted by solid circles at nodes; outgroups not shown).

Figure 2. Plot of Discriminant Function 1 versus number of dorsal scales, illustrating the separation of the three lineages.

Figure 4. Dorsal view of (a) Ophisops microlepis, NCBS AU747; (b) holotype of Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov., BNHS 2031; (c) holotype of Ophisops kutchensis sp. nov., NCBS AU760. Scale bar 10 mm.

Figure 5. Ventral view of (a) Ophisops microlepis, NCBS AU747; (b) holotype of Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov., BNHS 2031; (c) holotype of Ophisops kutchensis sp. nov., NCBS AU760. Scale bar 10 mm.

Figure 6. Dorsal, ventral and right lateral views of head of (a) Ophisops microlepis, NCBS AU747; (b) holotype of Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov., BNHS 2031; (c) holotype of Ophisops kutchensis sp. nov., NCBS AU760. Scale bar 10 mm.

Figure 7. Members of the Ophisops microlepis complex in life: (a) Ophisops microlepis, NCBS AU739; (b) Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov., holotype BNHS 2031; (c) Ophisops kutchensis sp. nov., paratype BNHS 2024.

Figure 8. Habitats of members of the Ophisops microlepis complex: (a) Ophisops microlepis, Korba District, Chhattisgarh; (b) Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov., Ajmer District, Rajasthan; (c) Ophisops kutchensis sp. nov., Kutch District, Gujarat.

Figure 9. Type series of Ophisops pushkarensis sp. nov.