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Issue: Vol. 5665 No. 2: 22 Jul. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-07-22
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5665.2.3
Page range: 205-222
Abstract views: 373
PDF downloaded: 9

Two new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from the western Himalayas

Developmental Biology and Herpetology Laboratory; Department of Zoology; Mizoram University; Aizawl 796004; Mizoram; India.
Help Earth; 16; RNC Path; Lachitnagar; Guwahati 781007; Assam; India.
Developmental Biology and Herpetology Laboratory; Department of Zoology; Mizoram University; Aizawl 796004; Mizoram; India.
Max Planck Institute for Biology; Max-Planck-Ring 1; Tübingen 72076; Germany.
Reptilia Biodiversity hotspot Gekkonidae ND2 phylogeny Sauria

Abstract

The members of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray (1827) have received unprecedented attention in India in the recent past, especially in northeast India and the eastern Himalayas. However, the western Himalayas have, and in large, been less well-investigated. A recent herpetological survey in the western Himalayas led to the discovery of two new species from the states of Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh. The phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial NADH subunit 2 gene indicates that the new species belong to the C. lawderanus group. The new species from Jammu and Kashmir is most similar to C. chamba Agarwal, Khandekar & Bauer 2018 and the one from Himachal Pradesh to C. lawderanus (Stoliczka 1871) in general appearance. The new species differ from previously described taxa to which they are allied in several morphological features, in addition to exhibiting substantial DNA sequence divergence.

 

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How to Cite

Bhardwaj, V.K., Purkayastha, J., Lalremsanga, H.T. & Mirza, Z.A. (2025) Two new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from the western Himalayas. Zootaxa, 5665 (2), 205–222. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5665.2.3