Sumidh Ray

We describe two new species of the genus Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820, namely Hemidactylus cairnicola sp. nov. and H. koyaorum sp. nov., from Nalgonda and Warangal districts of Telangana State, India, respectively, based on an integrative assessment of external morphology and mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) gene sequences. Both taxa are assigned to the Hemidactylus brookii group and belong to the murrayi clade, within which they show closest affinity to H. treutleri Mahony, 2009. Mitochondrial sequence divergence reveals substantial genetic differentiation from H. treutleri, with the species of Nalgonda exhibiting an uncorrected pairwise distance of 9.5–14.5%, and the species of Warangal differing by 7.0–13.5%. The two newly described species are also genetically distinct from each other, showing an uncorrected p-distance of 9.5–10.0%. These levels of divergence, in conjunction with consistent morphological differences, support the recognition of both taxa as distinct species.

We describe a new species of the genus Mesalina from Rajasthan, India. The new species is genetically distinct and belongs to the M. watsonana species complex, and differs from all other congeners in a combination of morphological characters, such as 10 upper labials; eight lower labials; two large transparent shields of lower eyelid accompanied with three smaller shields; scales on tibia keeled; ventral plates in eight straight longitudinal series, ventral plates in 30 transverse rows; 34 dorsal granular scales across middle of back; nine collars; five submaxillaries; 24 gulars; four supraoculars; 6-7 supraciliaries; one very large preanal shield surrounded above and at the sides by two rows of smaller scales; 14 femoral pores on each side of the thigh, narrowly separated by 2 scales; 21 lamellae under fourth toe.

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.

Lycodon irwini Naveen, Zeeshan, Mirza, Choure & Chandramouli, 2025 was recently described from three female specimens collected in the Nicobar Islands, India. Until now, no male individuals had been reported, leaving potential sexual dimorphism and several diagnostic characters insufficiently understood. Here, we provide the first morphological description of the male and refine the species diagnosis using information from both sexes. In addition, an updated identification key to the species of the Lycodon subcinctus complex is presented. We also compile an updated checklist of 74 species of amphibians and reptiles recorded from the Nicobar Islands.