identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03F387B08B3FDC5CFF08FBAFFD9F9496.text	03F387B08B3FDC5CFF08FBAFFD9F9496.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Takydromus ultapaniensis Chettri & Mothey & Ghatani & Deepak & Rai 2026	<div><p>Takydromus ultapaniensis sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 4–6; Table 2</p><p>Holotype ZSI-R-28647 (Fig. 5B), male from <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=90.00222&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=26.667221" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 90.00222/lat 26.667221)">Ultapani Forest Range</a> (26° 45’ 54.00” N; 90° 16’ 54.00” E; 165 m a.s.l), <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=90.00222&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=26.667221" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 90.00222/lat 26.667221)">Holtugoan forest</a> division (26° 29’ 12.00” N; 90° 17’ 19.00” E; 70 m a.s.l) under <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=90.00222&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=26.667221" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 90.00222/lat 26.667221)">Manas Reserve Forest</a> (26° 40’ 02” N; 90° 00’ 08.00” E; 107 m a.s.l, Kokrajhar District, Assam, India collected by Basundhara Chettri and Rabina Mothey on September 23, 2021 at 10:00 am.</p><p>Paratype (n= 4) ZSI-R-28646 female (Fig. 5A), (ZSI-R-28924, ZSI-R-28925, ZSI-R-28926) males from Ultapani Forest Range (26° 45’ 54.00” N; 90° 16’ 54.00” E; 165 m a.s.l), Holtugoan forest division under Manas Reserve Forest, Kokrajhar District, Assam, India collected by Basundhara Chettri and Rabina Mothey on September 21, 2021 at 9:30 am .</p><p>Diagnosis. Takydromus ultapaniensis sp. nov. from Ultapani is a moderate-sized grass lizard (SVL 34.3–56.5 mm); femoral pores 2–3 on each side; CS 3; SPL 5–7 on either side and IFL 5–6 on either side; SPO 3 on either side; ADSR 7–9; LDSN greater (23–30); SSRF 4–5 in females and 8–9 in males; VR 7; VN 23–27; SDLF-IV 15–17; SDLT-IV 17–19; distinctly visible parietal pits; two prefrontals in contact with each other; interparietal divided; a small scale present posterior to the second loreal and touching 5 th and largest supralabial; palpebral scales (scales surrounding eyes): upper 11–13 and lower 13–15; CSR 15–18.</p><p>Description of holotype. adult male; SVL 54.4 mm; TL 157.0 mm; head moderate, HL 10.7 mm (20% of SVL), HW 6.1 mm, HH 5.7 mm, snout to eye length (SEL) 5.9 mm (55% of HL). Body slender, elongated, streamlined; head small, narrow, pointed; neck distinct; eyes large. Specimen in partially dehydrated condition.</p><p>Head scales (Figs 5C–E)—rostral in contact with first supralabials posteriorly and supranasals dorsolaterally; nostril surrounded by supranasal, postnasal, and first supralabial on each side; supranasal single on each side, separating rostral from frontonasal, contacting anterior loreal posteriorly and each other dorso-medially; postnasal single, contacting supranasal dorsally, loreal posteriorly and first supralabial ventrally; supralabials six on each side, fifth largest, under the eye; infralabials five on each side; loreals two on each side, anterior smaller than posterior, posterior loreal contacting anterior-most supraocular and anterior-most supraciliary scale; supraoculars three on each side, posterior most smallest; supraciliaries four on each side, second one longest, posterior three separated from supraoculars by palpebral scales; palpebral scales—upper 12, lower 14; frontonasal hexagonal, smooth and separated from frontal by paired prefrontals; prefrontals weakly keeled, contacting each other medially, bordered by frontal and anteriormost supraocular posteriorly and loreals laterally; a single frontal hexagonal, weakly keeled, contacting anterior two supraoculars laterally and frontoparietals posteriorly; frontoparietals two, pentagonal, contacting each other medially, with parietal and interparietal posteriorly; interparietal surrounded by two frontoparietals and two parietals; parietal pit visible; parietals two, large, weakly keeled, separated by interparietal and occipitals; occipital single between parietals; temporal scales granular, slightly keeled; supratemporals two on each side, anterior largest, irregular in shape; mental large, semi-elliptical; three pairs of chin-shields, first contacting medially, posterior two pairs separated by gular scales; gular scales gradually increasing in size, keeled, imbricated; collars distinct, comprising 12 scales rows pointed backwards, forming free serration.</p><p>Dorsal and ventral scales— dorsal scales enlarged, imbricated, strongly keeled, oriented posteriorly forming continuous ridges; extending anteriorly beyond forelimbs onto nape, in nine rows in anterior-most dorsal scale rows (ADSR), six rows at level of forelimbs, four rows at level of hindlimbs and four rows at midbody, including a much smaller and discontinuous central row; longitudinal dorsal scales (LDSN) 24. Ventrals in seven rows, imbricate, strongly keeled and pointed posteriorly; longitudinal ventral scales (VN) 27.</p><p>Lateral and anal scales (Figs 5F–H)—four rows of lateral scales between enlarged dorsal and ventral scales from midbody to start of hindlimbs; 18 rows of granular scales on upper flanks, decreasing posteriorly; single anal plate bordered by single shield on each side; four continuous preanal plates; two enlarged postanal plates, 2–3 rows of scales between vent and postcloacal plates; two femoral pores on each side.</p><p>Forelimb— forelimbs moderate: FLL 10.4 mm; scales on anterior and dorsal surfaces of upper arm enlarged, keeled, rhomboid, imbricate, in six rows; scales on posterior surface of upper arm smooth, in two rows; scales on ventral surface of upper arm granular, heterogeneous in size; single row of markedly enlarged smooth scales along anterior surface of forearm; scales on ventral surfaces of forearm smooth, flat, in four rows; scales on dorsal surface of forearm keeled, heterogeneous in size, extending to wrist; dorsal scales on hand smooth; scales on palm granular; dorsal scales on fingers smooth, in a single row.</p><p>Hindlimb— hindlimbs short, HLL 15.0 mm; two rows of large, smooth scales running beneath thigh, third row incomplete; two rows of enlarged keeled scales and two rows of small keeled scales on dorsal surface of thigh; scales on rear of thigh granular, homogeneous in size; two internal tibial scale rows, one composed of enlarged, smooth scales, the other of weakly keeled scales; dorsal tibial scale flat, keeled, heterogeneous in size, extending onto dorsal surface of foot; scales on sole of foot granular; dorsal scales on toes smooth, in a row.</p><p>Lamellae (Fig. 5H)—subdigital lamellae under fingers I–V (left/right) 5/6, 11/11, 14/15, 17/17, 13/13; most lamellae entire; relative fingers lengths I&lt;II&lt;V&lt;III&lt;IV; subdigital lamellae under toes I–V (left/right) 9/9, 17/16, 18/19, 19/19, 13/13; relative lengths of toes I &lt;II &lt;V &lt;III &lt;IV</p><p>Tail— tail intact: tail length (157.0 mm), approximately three times SVL (54.5 mm), scales strongly keeled arranged in 15 rows at the level of the 13 th to 15 th subcaudal scales.</p><p>Hemipenis (based on everted condition; Fig. 3A) — hemipenes paired, symmetrical, emerging posteroventrally from base of tail when everted; each hemipenis elongate, weakly clavate, with a distinctly bilobed distal region; lobes moderately developed, rounded apically, and separated by shallow medial cleft. Sulcus spermaticus single, median, extending proximodistally along hemipenial shaft, bifurcating distally, each branch terminating at apex of a lobe.</p><p>Colour in life. Dorsal surface of head, body, limbs, and tail bronze. Cream-coloured dorsolateral lines, bordered black above and below, from posterior margin of last supra-temporal to forepart of tail; in males, indistinct or absent in adult females. Flanks dark without any spots in females (Fig. 5F); males with prominent yellowish spots or dust along lateral body (Fig. 5G). Labial series, mental, chin-shields, granular scales on throat, collars, and ventral region pale yellow. Limbs dark brown dorsally, pale yellow ventrally, digits brown.</p><p>Colour in preservative (Fig. 6). Dorsal surface of head, body, limbs blackish brown; labial series, mental, chin-shields, granular scales on throat, middle portion of ventral body pale bluish; ventral surface of limbs beige; dorsolateral stripes greenish black; dorsolateral granules up to enlarged scales of vent blackish brown; anal plates and entire ventral region of tail pale white.</p><p>Variation and sexual dimorphism. Measurements, body proportions, and scale counts of the type series of Takydromus ultapaniensis sp. nov. from Ultapani, Assam are listed in Table 2. This species exhibits noticeable sexual dimorphism: (1) small, flat granular scales in a transverse row on flank at mid-body (SSRF) 4–5 in females and 8–9 in males; (2) dorso-lateral lines with prominent yellowish-white bordered with black above and below in males (vs. absent or indistinct in adult females and juveniles); (3) flanks of body with prominent yellowish spots visible in males (vs. absent in females) (Fig. 5).</p><p>Etymology. The species epithet “ ultapaniensis ” is derived in reference to the type locality of the new species, Ultapani, Kokrajhar District, Assam (“ulta” meaning reverse and “pani” meaning water in Hindi language) referring to the flow of the river in this area. We suggest the common name “Ultapani grass lizard”.</p><p>Distribution, habits, and habitats. Takydromus ultapaniensis sp. nov. is recorded from the Ultapani Reserve Forest, which is located in the Holtugoan Forest Division and falls under the Manas Biosphere Reserve in the Kokrajhar District of Assam (Fig. 1). The forest type is mainly semi-evergreen and moist deciduous harbours a unique and rich biodiversity (Paul et al. 2012; Sarma 2014), and it was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 (Baruah et al. 2003). Similar to mangrove vegetation, the riparian vegetation in the waterlogged areas of Ultapani is characterized by pneumatophores due to high salinity. The network of tree roots extends above the soil surface forming numerous pools of water. Takydromus ultapaniensis sp. nov. was found in a small, open area within the forest crisscrossed by small water channels and puddles (Fig. 9). Most individuals of this diurnal species were found basking on fern bushes, with one exception: one individual was found on the edge of a water channel. They were very difficult to catch due to their agility and their tendency to flee into dense fern bushes at the slightest disturbance. The sighting location had approximately ~ 40% canopy cover, and the ground cover was ~ 40% leaf litter, ~ 30% grass, and ~ 30% bare ground. The surrounding area is marshy with waterlogged vegetation. The vegetation is semi-evergreen, with plant species like Syzygium formosum Wall. Mason, Glochidion zeylanicum Gaertn. A. Juss., Melastomama labathricum L., Dicranopteris linearis Burm. f Underw., Saccharum sponteneum L. etc. Patches of ferns like Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C. Presl, Glaphylopteri opsiserubescens (Hook.) C. Presl, Dryopteris fillixanus (L.) Schott etc. were observed in between the waterlogged areas where the Takydromus ultapaniensis sp. nov. was found basking.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F387B08B3FDC5CFF08FBAFFD9F9496	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	Chettri, Basundhara;Mothey, Rabina;Ghatani, Sudeep;Deepak, V.;Rai, Ananta	Chettri, Basundhara, Mothey, Rabina, Ghatani, Sudeep, Deepak, V., Rai, Ananta (2026): A new species of Takydromus (Squamata: Lacertidae) from northeast India. Zootaxa 5763 (2): 205-224, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5763.2.2, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5763.2.2
