@article {104895, title = {The delusion of stripes: A century-old mystery of five-lined sun skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae: Eutropis) of Peninsular India elucidated}, journal = {Zoologischer Anzeiger}, volume = {296}, year = {2022}, month = {01/2022}, pages = {71-90}, abstract = {

We re-evaluate the taxonomic identities of five-lined skinks of the genus Eutropis (E.\ trivittata, E. beddomei, E. nagarjunensis, and E.\ bibronii) inhabiting the Indian subcontinent. Previously it has been considered that E.\ trivittata is distributed in the western India and E. dissimilis in the northern India (from north-eastern India up to Pakistan). Based on our analysis, we revealed that the illustration (iconotype) of the untraceable type specimen of E. trivittata depicted by Hardwicke in Gray (1834) from {\textquotedblleft}Dumdum{\textquotedblright} near Kolkata, West Bengal matches the typical E. dissimilis, also described from {\textquotedblleft}Bengal{\textquotedblright}. The senior synonym, E. trivittata is a morphologically unique species, which is also supported by divergence in the mitochondrial 12S and 16S regions. E. trivittata is clearly separated with divergences of 5{\textendash}7\% from E. beddomei, E. vertebralis and E. nagarjunensis for 16S rRNA. After placing E.\ dissimilis with the synonymy of E.\ trivittata, the taxonomic status of the western Indian {\textquoteleft}E.\ trivittata{\textquoteright} required to be clarified. Therefore, we resurrect Mabuia vertebralis Boulenger, 1887, a junior synonym of western Indian E. trivittata, and redescribe its holotype collected from {\textquotedblleft}Belgaum{\textquotedblright}, Karnataka. Although, morphologically closest to E. beddomei, Eutropis vertebralis comb. nov. is a sister taxon to E. nagarjunensis with divergence of 4\% in the same mitochondrial regions. Based on our update of the currently confirmed localities for E. vertebralis comb. nov. and E. trivittata, we conducted a Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) using the Maximum Entropy algorithm to predict their distribution range, and we discuss their conservation status.

}, doi = {10.1016/j.jcz.2021.11.004}, author = {Amarasinghe, AA Thasun and Ganesh, S.R. and Mirza, Zeeshan A and Campbell, Patrick D. and Pauwels, Olivier S.G. and Schweiger, Silke and Kupfer, Alexander and Patel, Harshil and Karunarathna, Suranjan and Deuti, Kaushik and Ineich, Ivan and Hallermann, Jakob and Abinawanto, A. and Supriatna, Jatna} } @article {109306, title = {The hidden diversity and inland radiation of Sri Lanka{\textquoteright}s ground-dwelling geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae)}, journal = {SYSTEMATICS AND BIODIVERSITY }, volume = {20}, year = {2022}, month = {04/2022}, pages = {1-25}, abstract = {

The genus Cyrtodactylus has recently been classified phylogenetically into several clades, subclades, groups, and some into Sri Lankan Cyrtodactylus. Certain complexes from the Indian subcontinent have been assigned to the "C. triedrus group". This group is comprised of medium-sized species (SVL 50.6-105.7mm) and are composed of five major species complexes: fraenatus, triedrus, deccanensis, jeyporensis, and collegalensis. Among these complexes, the latter four are composed of ground and litter dwelling species, which were previously assigned to the genus Geckoella; and is currently being treated as a subgenus. Cyrtodactylus triedrus, an endemic species of Sri Lanka, has long been considered a widely distributed single species in this part of the world. Based on morphological and phylogenetic evidences, we demonstrate that C. (G.) triedrus is not a single species, but a species complex. We also describe a new species that is restricted to intermediate savanna-mixed dry lowland forested habitats. Furthermore, we resurrect Geckoella pinciata, assign it to the genus Cyrtodactylus and designate a lectotype that we redescribe. The genetic divergence across species of the C. triedrus Glade varies between 11-26\% in the studied fragment of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene. The molecular phylogeny of the ground dwelling radiation of the subgenus Geckoella indicates deep splits between the Indian species and Sri Lankan endemic C. (G.) triedrus sensu stricto, and between Indian dry and wet zone clades. Cyrtodactylus (G.). triedrus is restricted to the moist or submontane forests in the Central highlands of Sri Lanka and is redescribed herein based on its holotype.

}, doi = {10.1080/14772000.2022.2039319}, author = {Amarasinghe, AAT and Karunarathna, Suranjan and Campbell, Patrick D. and Gayan, AKA and Ranasinghe, WDB and De Silva, Anslem and Mirza, Zeeshan A.} } @article {81590, title = {On the systematic status of Calliophis macclellandi nigriventer Wall, 1908 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Elapidae)}, journal = {ZOOTAXA}, volume = {4821}, year = {2020}, month = {07/2020}, pages = {105-120}, abstract = {

Sinomicrurus macclellandi (Reinhardt, 1844) is a species of coral snakes distributed across the forests of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. The species exhibits distinct forms across its range, and it has been classified into four subspecies. Calliophis macclellandi nigriventer Wall, 1908 a population from Western Himalayas, which was described as a variety, has not been attended to until now. Our study of a recently collected specimen from near Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India and existing museum material has allowed us to assess the validity of this population based on molecular and morphological data and has given us enough evidence to suggest its elevation to a species rank. Sinomicrurus nigriventer comb. nov. was found to be embedded within a clade comprising S. peinani, but not S. macclellandi s. l., with a genetic distance of 7-16\% from its congeners. Morphologically, it differs from its congeners in having a reddish brown dorsum and a mid-dorsal black vertebral strip extending from the nape to the vent and with three thin bands on the tail, belly white with black smear up to the vent, tail dorsum with a few band-like blotches, and males with 230-235 ventral scales.

}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4821.1.5}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Varma, Vishal and Campbell, Patrick D.} }