Bharath Bhupathi

Eublepharis , an Asian-endemic genus of leopard geckos, represents the third largest genus within the family Eublepharidae. India harbors six recognized species in the genus Eublepharis , representing the highest species diversity for this genus reported from any single country to date. In this work, a new species of the genus, Eublepharis jhuma sp. nov ., is described based on three specimens. The new species can be diagnosed by the following combination of morphological features: (1) SVL 123–142 mm, (2) having large, flat, tubercle-like, moderately keeled scales across the dorsum, with interspaces much larger than the size of the tubercles, (3) two pale bands between the nuchal loop and caudal constriction, (4) subdigital lamellae tuberculate, (5) dorsal scales on the regenerated tail flat and rectangular, (6) 22–25 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe, and (7) 12–13 precloacal pores. The new species is also phylogenetically distinct from all its congeners (6.9–7.8% from its closest sister species, E. satpuraensis ). The discovery of a new reptile from the Chota Nagpur Plateau highlights the role of more extensive study in the region. Furthermore, its occurrence in the Kaimur Plateau, the easternmost Vindhyan escarpments, highlights the allopatric speciation from the sister species, E. satpuraensis , shaped by deep-time geological processes.

A new species of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray is described from the eastern Himalayan region of West Bengal state, India. The new species is assigned to the C. peguensis species group and is readily distinguished from its regional congeners by a unique combination of morphological characters. These include dorsal scalation comprising small granules intermixed with enlarged, feebly keeled, weakly pointed tubercles arranged in 15–22 fairly regular longitudinal rows at midbody; 11–14 subdigital lamellae beneath the first digit and 17–23 beneath the fourth digit; nine precloacal pores and 6–9 femoral pores in males; 10–12 supralabials; and nine infralabials. Molecular analyses based on mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) sequence data further support the distinctiveness of the new species, which exhibits 11.8–19.8% uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence from its closest congeners. Specifically, it differs from C. gubernatoris by 11.8–12.0% and from C. bhupathyi by 18.5–19.8%, while showing divergences exceeding 20.5% from other congeners examined. In addition to the description of the new species, detailed redescriptions of the holotypes of two regional congeners, C. himalayicus and C. gubernatoris , are provided based on direct examination. The discovery of this new taxon highlights the underestimated diversity of Cyrtodactylus in the eastern Himalayas and underscores the importance of integrated morphological and molecular approaches in resolving species boundaries within this speciose gecko genus.

We describe a new species of large-bodied, rock-dwelling gecko of the genus Hemidactylus from the Eastern Ghats of Odisha, India. The new species is genetically distinct, as already indicated in previous studies, and differs from all other congeners in a combination of morphological characters, such as dorsal scalation of small granules intermixed with large, pointed, trihedral tubercles that form 15–19 fairly regularly arranged longitudinal rows at midbody; 9–11 subdigital lamellae below the first and 12–14 below the fourth digit; 22–26 femoral pores separated by five poreless scales in males; and 11–13 supralabials and 9–11 infralabials. The new species is from the Eastern Ghats clade of large-bodied, tuberculated Hemidactylus and can be readily diagnosed morphologically from the two sister species, H. sushilduttai and H. kangerensis , in having characters such as the second postmental distinct and ~70% of the first postmental; the first postmental touching infralabial I and the second postmental touching infralabials I and II; and one post-cloacal spur on each side. The new species is distributed in the northern Eastern Ghats range of Odisha, inhabiting moist and dry deciduous forests and rock boulders and occasionally entering human habitations.

A new species of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus (slender geckos) is described from the Tirumala Hill ranges in the Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve of the southern Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, southern India. This novel species exhibits 9.7–12.9% divergence in uncorrected pairwise distances of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) sequence data from its closely related congeners in peninsular India, namely H. jnana (9.5–12.6%), H. nilgiriensis (10.9–12.9%), and H. peninsularis (10.5–11.2%), and had previously been suggested as an undescribed species by earlier researchers based on molecular phylogenetic analyses. The new species, represented by five individuals, reached a maximum observed snout–vent length (SVL) of 33.7 mm and differs from its peninsular Indian congeners by the following combination of characters: 12–16 chin scales; 16–17 dorsal scales; 9–11 ventral scales at midbody; males with 6–8 precloacal pores and 5–7 femoral pores on each thigh, separated by 7–10 poreless scales; and lamellar formula of manus 2-2-2-2 and pes 2-2-2-2. This is the second species of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus to be reported from Andhra Pradesh, after H. arakuensis .

We describe a new species of Riopa from the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states, India. The new species is diagnosed by the following suite of characters: lower eyelid with a semi-transparent disk, 108–109 paravertebral scale rows, 8 or 9 lamellae on the 4th toe, dorsum with 16 distinct longitudinal lines, five fingers and five toes, preanal scales not enlarged, and ear opening covered by scales. Our mitochondrial molecular data supports the placement of the species in the genus Riopa and the new species is 4.1–9.2 % divergent from genetically sampled congeners. This study adds in understanding the cryptic diversity of lizard fauna in the Eastern Ghats in peninsular India. Based on our findings we provide a dichotomous key to the genus Riopa.

Pseudophilautus regius is a bush frog originally described from the dry zones of Sri Lanka. In the present study, P. regius is being reported from the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India as a new record for the country. The Indian population of P. regius being polytypic, identity confirmation was aided by genetic data. Earlier data for the genus Pseudophilautus indicated that three endemic species were known from the Western Ghats, India and 75 endemic species occurred in Sri Lanka. This report forms the first report of a bush frog exhibiting distribution in both India and Sri Lanka across the saltwater barrier of the Palk Strait in the Indian ocean. Discussions are made regarding other lineages which have distributions across both India and Sri Lanka.

We collected a dead specimen of A. diardii on 8 September 2022 (Fig. 1), from the

Showed the Indian distribution of the species extending from the northeastern states to the Mahendragiri Hills of the