Comments on “An updated and annotated list of lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklist of Indian reptiles by P.D. Venugopal”

Zeeshan A. Mirza

Zoology Department, BhavansCollege, Andheri (W), Mumbai 400058, Maharashtra, India.

Email: snakeszeeshan@gmail.com

Date of publication (online): 26 May 2010

Date of publication (print): 26 May 2010

ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

Manuscript details:

Ms # o2449

Received 01 May 2010

Citation: Mirza, Z.A. (2010). Comments on “An updated and annotated list of lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklist of Indian reptiles by P.D. Venugopal”. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(5): 898.

Copyright: © Zeeshan A. Mirza 2010. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 UnportedLicense. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

Venugopal (2010a) made a noteworthy attempt in updating the list of Indian lizards and also provide annotations on the present taxonomic status of the species. In the first attempt, Venugopal (2010a) had failed to include several gekkonid lizards whichhe rectified by adding two species Geckoella albofasciatus and Eublepharis fuscus updating the list of Indian lizards from 199 to 201 (Venugopal 2010b).

Apart from the above mentionedspecies, Venugopal (2010a & 2010b) failed to mention two gekkonid lizards occurring in India. Giri et al. (2009) described Cnemaspis kolhapurensis from Kolhapur District, Maharashtra. Venugopal (2010a & 2010b) perhaps was unaware of the description of C. kolhapurensis. Another gekkonidlizard Tropiocolotes persicus euphorbiacola Minton, Anderson & Anderson 1970 was reported by Agarwal (2009) for the first time from India from the state of Rajasthan in Nabh Dongar, Jaisalmer District.

Zug et al. (2007) suggested H. mahendrai Shukla, 1983 to be considered a synonym of H. brookii. But this has not been formally done as the type specimens are lost or have not been deposited in a recognized museum. Considering the fact that H. brookii is paraphyletic as demonstrated by Carranza & Arnold (2005) and supported by Mahony (2009), we propose to retain it until further specimens from the type locality are examined.

Recently, Javed et al. (2009) reported H. subtriedrus from ArakuValley, Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh and presented proofs on its distinctness from H. triedrus. The population referred to as ‘H. subtriedrus’ by Javed et al. (2009) and Sanyal & Dasgupta (1990) from Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in fact belong to H. maculatus complex rendering the systematic status of H. subtriedrus unresolved (Javed et al. in press). Thus I propose H. subtriedrus to be listed as a species until it is formally synonimized.

Considering the above additions and comments the present number of Indian lizards would be 205 and not 201 as updated by Venugopal (2010b).

References

Agarwal, I. (2009). First record of Tropiocolotes persicus euphorbiacola Minton, Anderson and Anderson 1970 (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the republic of India, with notes on its habitat and natural history. Russian Journal of Herpetology16 (2): 1–5.

Carranza, S. & E.N. Arnold (2005). Systematics, biogeography, and evolution of Hemidactylus geckos (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) elucidated using mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38: 531–545.

Giri, V., A. Bauer & K. Gaikwad(2009). A new ground-dwelling species of Cnemaspis Strauch(Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India. Zootaxa 2164: 49-60.

Javed, S.M.M., S. Saravanan, F. Tampal & C. Srinivasulu(2009). Occurrence and comparison of Jerdon’s Gecko Hemidactylus subtriedrus Jerdon 1853 with Termite Hill Gecko Hemidactylus triedrus (Daudin, 1802) from Ananthagiri Hills, northern Eastern Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(7): 366–369.

Javed, S.M.M., Z.A. Mirza, C. Srinivasulu, B.H.C.K. Murthy & F. Tampal (in press) A divergent population of Hemidactylus maculatus maculatus Duméril& Bibron, 1836 (Reptilia:Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the northern Eastern Ghats, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology.

Kluge, A.G. (2001) Gekkotanlizard taxonomy. Hamadryad 26: 1-209.

Mahony, S. (2009). A new species of gecko of the genus Hemidactylus (Reptilia:Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Andhra Pradesh, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology 16(1): 1-8.

Venugopal, P.D. (2010a).An updated and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia:Souria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(3): 725-738.

Venugopal, P.D. (2010b).Addendum to An updated and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(4): 848.

Zug, G.R., J.V. Vindum& M.S. Koo (2007). Burmese Hemidactylus (Reptilia Squamata Gekkonidae): taxonomic notes on tropical Asian Hemidactylus. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 58: 387–405.