Takydromus khasiensis Boulenger, 1917

Hakim, Jonathan, Trageser, Scott J., Ghose, Animesh, Rashid, Sheikh Muhammad Abdur & Rahman, Shahriar Caesar, 2020, Amphibians and reptiles from Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh, Check List 16 (5), pp. 1239-1268 : 1252

Takydromus khasiensis Boulenger, 1917

Material examined. BANGLADESH • 1 adult; Sylhet Division, Moulvibazar District, Kamalganj Upazila, La- wachara Forest ; 24°20.47′N, 091°47.81′E; 27 Sep. 1961; CAS 94297 . • 1; same collection data as for proceeding; CAS 94298 . • 1; same collection data as for proceeding; CAS 94299 .

Identification. Three Takydromus specimens collected in 1961 and preserved in the CAS were found to key out closest to T. khasiensis , with three chin shield pairs (though in one specimen one of the pairs was nearly split), 6–7 upper labials, SVL 3.3–3.4 times longer than head length, tail length 2.4 times longer than SVL, and color faded in preservation but showing a narrow dark band that fades around mid-body ( Boulenger 1917; Ar- nold 1997). In the specimen record Indraneil Das for- mally identified these specimens ( CAS 94297-94299) as T. khasiensis , the only Takydromus species confirmed from our region.

Remarks. Our group made two sightings of Takydromus in five years, both in mature forest. The first was an ac- tive individual within a manmade clearing while the second was an individual sleeping on a leaf 0.5 m above the ground under open canopy. However, the Takydromus specimen found in LNP by us ( Fig. 6D) differed signif- icantly from described T. khasiensis in scalation, morphology, and color pattern. Indraneil Das and Si-Min Lin (pers. comm.) reviewed the photographs and scale counts and were of the opinion that our specimen represents a novel species. A definitive conclusion and de- scription requires genetic sequencing of the population.