@article {105471, title = {A new ancient lineage of ablepharine skinks (Sauria: Scincidae) from eastern Himalayas with notes on origin and systematics of the group}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {10}, year = {2022}, month = {01/2022}, pages = {e12800}, abstract = {

The Himalayas represent a renowned biodiversity hotspot and an important biogeographic realm that has influenced origin and diversification of multiple taxa. A recent herpetological investigation of the eastern Himalayas of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh led to the discovery of a unique lineage of ablepharine skink, which is herein described as a new genus along with a new species. The findings are based an integrated taxonomic approach incorporating data from external morphology, microCT scans of the skull and molecular data. The molecular phylogeny of ablepharine skinks is also presented that suggests taxonomic amendments. Discovery of this unique lineage of skinks further highlights the biogeographic importance of the eastern Himalayas as a source for origin of several relic biota.

}, doi = {10.7717/peerj.12800}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Bragin, Andrey M. and Bhosale, Harshal and Gowande, Gaurang and Patel, Harshil and Poyarkov, Nikolay A.} } @article {111039, title = {A new cryptic species of green pit viper of the genus Trimeresurus Lac{\'e}p{\`e}de, 1804 (Serpentes, Viperidae) from northeast India.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {17}, year = {2022}, month = {2022}, pages = {e0268402}, abstract = {

A new cryptic species of green pit viper is described from northeast India, based on specimens collected from the state of Mizoram and Meghalaya. The new species is a member of the subgenus Viridovipera and is sister to Trimeresurus medoensis based on molecular data for mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, whereas resembles Trimeresurus gumprechti morphologically. A combination of characters helps delimit the new species from its congeners. Description of the new species highlights the need for dedicated surveys across northeast India to document its reptilian diversity, as this represents the third new species of the genus to be described in the past three years.

}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0268402}, author = {Rathee, Yashpal Singh and Purkayastha, Jayaditya and Lalremsanga, Hmar Tlawmte and Dalal, Siddharth and Biakzuala, Lal and Muansanga, Lal and Mirza, Zeeshan A} } @article {109299, title = {A new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from western Arunachal Pradesh, India}, journal = {HERPETOZOA }, volume = {35}, year = {2022}, month = {03/2022}, pages = {65-76}, abstract = {

A new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus is described from western Arunachal Pradesh. The new species is a member of the Indo-Burma clade and is embedded within the {\textquoteleft}peguensis" group, a relationship deduced contingent on a partial fragment of mitochondrial NADH subunit 2 gene. Cyrtodactylus kamengensis sp. nov. is morphologically similar to C. himalayicus from which it differs in bearing a distinct ventrolateral fold and 6-8 basal lamellae on digit IV of pes. Genetically, the new species is sister to the Indian lineage of the {\textquoteleft}peguensis" group containing C. bhupathyi and C. gubernatoris. The Indian lineage of the {\textquoteleft}peguen-sis" group diverged from its Burmese relatives during the mid-Oligocene likely followed by the beginning of the Himalayan uplift, highlighting the role of the Himalayas in the diversification of biota.

}, doi = {10.3897/herpetozoa.35.e80610}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Bhosale, Harshal and Ansari, Faizan and Phansalkar, Pushkar and Sawant, Mandar and Gowande, Gaurang and Patel, Harshil} } @article {104887, title = {A new species of geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from Arunachal Pradesh, India}, journal = {Evolutionary Systematics}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, month = {01/2021}, pages = {13-23}, abstract = {

We here describe a new species of bent-toed geckos from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is widespread across the Dafla and Mishmi hills, occurring at elevations ranging from 179 m to 1400 m. The new species is recovered as sister to the Cyrtodactylus khasiensis clade based on a molecular phylogeny inferred from mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase, subunit 2 gene. Intraspecific uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence (p-distance) for the new species was found to be between 0 and 5\%, whereas the interspecific divergence from the closely-related congeners was between 19 and 30\%. The new species can be differentiated from members of the C. khasiensis clade using a suite of morphological characters: moderate body size (SVL 64.9{\textendash}81.7); 8{\textendash}11 supralabials; 8{\textendash}10 infralabials; 24{\textendash}26 bluntly conical, feebly keeled dorsal tubercles; 50{\textendash}60 paravertebral tubercles; ~38 ventral scales between ventrolateral folds; no precloacal groves; 6{\textendash}10 precloacofemoral pores in a continuous series; 10{\textendash}16 distal subdigital lamellae on IV of pes; subcaudal scalation of original tail without enlarged plates. This is the fourth reptile species described from Arunachal Pradesh from the expedition led by the team, and this further highlights the need for further herpetological investigations into the region.

}, doi = {10.3897/evolsyst.5.61667}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Harshal Bhosale and Ansari, Faizan and Phansalkar, Pushkar and Sawant, Mandar and Gowande, Gaurang and Patel, Harshil} } @article {104891, title = {A new species of snake of the genus Oligodon Boie in Fitzinger, 1826 (Reptilia, Serpentes) from the Western Himalayas}, journal = {Evolutionary Systematics}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, month = {11/2021}, pages = {335-345 }, abstract = {

A new species of Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 is described based on specimens collected from Churah Valley of Himachal Pradesh. The new species is related to O. arnensis based on molecular as well as morphological data, however differs from it in several aspects. The new species shows a pairwise sequence divergence of 6{\textendash}20\% from congeners for mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Lack of pterygoid and palatine teeth of the new species suggests that the diet may largely comprise of eggs. Discovery of the new species is not surprising, as the Western Himalayas has been poorly explored in terms of its herpetofaunal diversity. Considerable genetic divergence in the sampled sequence suggests Oligodon arnensis is a species complex, likely represents multiple species and a revision of the group would be desirable.

}, doi = {10.3897/evolsyst.5.72564 }, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Bhardwaj, Virender Kumar and Patel, Harshil} } @article {68510, title = {A new species of fossorial natricid snakes of the genus Trachischium G{\"u}nther, 1858 (Serpentes: Natricidae) from the Himalayas of northeastern India.}, journal = {C R Biol}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Nov 19}, abstract = {

A new species of natricid snakes, Trachischium apteii sp. nov. is described from the northeastern Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. The new species differs from its congeners in the following suite of characters: dorsal scales in 15:15:15 rows, SVL 293-299mm, higher ventral count 143-150, very faint dorsal longitudinal lines, absence of yellow patch on the neck and the belly being pale yellow. Preliminary discussion on the phylogenetic position of the members of the genus Trachischium is presented. This discovery of a new snake species advocates the need for dedicated surveys to document biodiversity across Arunachal Pradesh and the neighbouring States of northeastern India.

}, issn = {1768-3238}, doi = {10.1016/j.crvi.2019.10.003}, author = {Bhosale, Harshal S and Gowande, Gaurang G and Mirza, Zeeshan A} } @article {48918, title = {A new cryptic species of ground-dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from southern India}, journal = {Phyllomedusa}, volume = {17}, year = {2018}, month = {12/2018}, pages = {169-180}, abstract = {

A new cryptic species of ground-dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from southern India. Recently collected specimens of a gecko resembling Hemidactylus reticulatus from northern Karnataka State in southwestern India led me to investigate variation in the species with regards to its morphology and molecular divergence. Results based on existing museum material, combined with molecular data for the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene support the presence of cryptic species within the broadly distributed H. reticulatus complex. Here, I describe a new species of Hemidactylus from northern Karnataka as the frst contribution in resolving the species complex. The integration of molecular and morphological data supports the distinctness of the new species described herein.

}, doi = {10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v17i2p169-180}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A} } @article {43880, title = {A new genus Gravelyia with two species of the family Nemesiidae (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) from India}, journal = {Acta Arachnologica}, volume = {67}, year = {2018}, month = {08/2018}, pages = {43-48}, abstract = {

Re-examination of the syntypes of Damarchus excavatus Gravely 1921 raised doubts on its generic allocation. A new genus Gravelyia gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate the species. A new combination Gravelyia excavatus (Gravely 1921) comb. nov. is proposed, and a lectotype is designated for the species. Furthermore, a new species Gravelyia striatus sp. nov. is described from West Bengal.

}, doi = {10.2476/asjaa.67.43}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Mondal, A} } @article {24896, title = {A new large species of gecko of the genus Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the Eastern Ghats, India.}, journal = {C R Biol}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Oct 13}, abstract = {

A new large species of gecko superficially resembling Hemidactylus maculatus Dum{\'e}ril \& Bibron and its allied large Hemidactylus is described from Eastern Ghats. The new species, Hemidactylus kangerensis sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from members of the H.\ maculatus complex based on the number of femoral pores, i.e. 18-21 on each side, separated medially by 4\ non-pored scales. A phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequence of mitochondrial gene cytochrome b shows that the gecko is a member of the "H.\ prashadi" clade and is sister to H.\ maculatus, from which it differs in an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of 10\%. The discovery of a new large gecko from Eastern Ghats advocates the need for biodiversity assessment across the neglected Eastern Ghats.

}, issn = {1768-3238}, doi = {10.1016/j.crvi.2017.09.003}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Bhosale, Harshal and Patil, Rishikesh} } @article {5907, title = {Neotype designation for Calotes versicolor Daudin, 1802 (Sauria: Agamidae) with notes on its systematics.}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4126}, year = {2016}, month = {2016}, pages = {271-9}, abstract = {

Calotes versicolor Daudin, 1802 is one of the most widespread agamid lizard species which was described without a locality. The type specimen of the species has long been considered lost; however most workers considered Pondicherry as the type locality for the species. Studies by Zug et al. 2006 confirmed that C. versicolor is a complex of multiple species which necessitates fixing type locality and specimen for the species in order to resolve the systematics of the species complex. An adult male from Pondicherry was collected and is here designated as the neotype. A re-description of the species is provided along with notes on systematics of the species.

}, issn = {1175-5334}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4126.2.7}, author = {Gowande, Gaurang and Mishra, Anurag and Mirza, Zeeshan A} } @article {5308, title = {A New Miocene-Divergent Lineage of Old World Racer Snake from India.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {11}, year = {2016}, month = {2016}, pages = {e0148380}, abstract = {

A distinctive early Miocene-divergent lineage of Old world racer snakes is described as a new genus and species based on three specimens collected from the western Indian state of Gujarat. Wallaceophis gen. et. gujaratenesis sp. nov. is a members of a clade of old world racers. The monotypic genus represents a distinct lineage among old world racers is recovered as a sister taxa to Lytorhynchus based on ~3047bp of combined nuclear (cmos) and mitochondrial molecular data (cytb, ND4, 12s, 16s). The snake is distinct morphologically in having a unique dorsal scale reduction formula not reported from any known colubrid snake genus. Uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence for nuclear gene cmos between Wallaceophis gen. et. gujaratenesis sp. nov. other members of the clade containing old world racers and whip snake is 21-36\%.

}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0148380}, author = {Mirza, Zeeshan A and Vyas, Raju and Patel, Harshil and Maheta, Jaydeep and Sanap, Rajesh V} } @article {8759, title = {A new species of the Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) collegalensis (Beddome, 1870) complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Western India.}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4170}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Sep 23}, pages = {339-354}, abstract = {

A new species of Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) from the C. collegalensis complex is described based on a series of specimens from western and central India. Morphological and molecular data support the distinctiveness of the new form, which can be diagnosed from other Cyrtodactylus (including other Geckoella) species by its small body size (snout to vent length to 56 mm), the absence of precloacal and femoral pores, no enlarged preanal or femoral scales, and a dorsal scalation consisting wholly of small, granular scales. The new species is most closely related to C. collegalensis, C. speciosus and C. yakhuna, from which it differs by the presence of a patch of enlarged roughly hexagonal scales on the canthus rostralis and beneath the angle of jaw, its relatively long limbs and narrow body, and a dorsal colour pattern of 4-6 pairs of dark spots.

}, issn = {1175-5334}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4170.2.7}, author = {Agarwal, Ishan and Mirza, Zeeshan A and Pal, Saunak and Maddock, Simon T and Mishra, Anurag and Bauer, Aaron M} }