Dravidoseps goaensis Sharma, 1976

Agarwal, Ishan, Thackeray, Tejas & Khandekar, Akshay, 2024, A non-adaptive radiation of viviparous skinks from the seasonal tropics of India: Systematics of Subdoluseps (Squamata: Scincidae), with description of a new genus and five cryptic new species, Vertebrate Zoology 74, pp. 23-83 : 23

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e110674
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:335FBFDD-E543-40CA-8014-0E16A7977586
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3EA3D6CD-84B1-504C-9F48-924897EB9F0A
treatment provided by	Vertebrate Zoology by Pensoft
scientific name	Dravidoseps goaensis Sharma, 1976
status	comb. nov.

Treatment

Dravidoseps goaensis Sharma, 1976 comb. nov.

Figures 8A View Figure 8 , 9B View Figure 9 , 12 View Figure 12

Chresonymy.

Riopa goaensis - Sharma (1976), Freitas et al. (2019)

Lygosoma goaensis - Das (1996)

Holotype.

ZSI 22032, unsexed adult, "ca. 5 km N.E. of Forest Rest House, Molem" [South Goa District, Goa State, India], collected by Zoological Survey of India during 1966-1969 ( Sharma 1976). Not in the specimen jar at ZSI, Kolkata (Pratyush Mohapatra pers. comm).

Neotype.

(designated herein) BNHS 2567 (AK 1345), adult female, from the vicinity of Hotel Whistling Woods (15.96006°N, 73.99736°E; elevation ca. 720 m asl.), Amboli, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra State, India, collected by Akshay Khandekar on 18th February 2021.

Additional material (n = 6).

ZSI-R-28612 (AK-R 847), adult male same data as neotype except collected on 3rd January 2022 ; NRC-AA-1303 (AK 1052), subadult, from near Ugwai temple (16.37237°N, 73.86344°E; elevation ca. 650 m asl.), Dajipur ; NRC-AA-1304 (AK 1192), subadult, from Talaye (16.65794°N, 73.91782°E; elevation ca. 600 m asl.); NRC-AA-1305 (AK 1300), adult male, from near Pandivare (16.36671°N, 74.09036°E; elevation ca. 820 m asl.); and BNHS 2566 (AK 1303), adult female, from near Kapurkada Falls , Washi (16.72807°N, 73.87645°E; elevation ca. 700 m asl.); all in Kolhapur District, Maharashtra State, India, same collectors as neotype, collected March-July 2019. NRC-AA-1302 (AK-R 2808), subadult, from Ustam (15.55983°N, 74.18788°E; elevation ca. 150 m asl.), South Goa District, Goa State, India, collected by Akshay Khandekar, Satpal Gangalmale, and Swapnil Pawar on 20 June 2023 GoogleMaps .

Etymology.

Named for its type locality, Goa.

Suggested common name.

Goan leaf-litter skink.

Diagnosis.

A medium-sized skink snout to vent length up to 56 mm (n = 7). Six or seven supralabials and six (rarely seven, n = 1/7) infralabials up to angle of mouth; fifth supralabial elongate and below eye (rarely fifth on one side, n = 2/7); one or two post-supralabials; seven supraciliaries (rarely six on one side, n = 1/7); a single slightly elongated nuchal on either side (rarely two on one side n = 1/7), in contact with each other behind parietal or separated by one or two scales; 62-67 scales in paravertebral rows; 28-30 scales around mid-body; 64-66 ventral scales (rarely 73, n = 1/7); eight enlarged precloacal scales (rarely 10, n = 1/7); scales on lateral sides of tail base smooth, 18 or 19 scales around the tail. Subdigital lamellae unpaired, smooth; five or six lamellae under digit I of manus and pes (rarely four on one side on manus, n = 1/7); 10 or 11 lamellae under digit IV of manus; and 13-15 under digit IV of pes (rarely 12 on one side, n = 1/7). Dorsum coconut brown; thick stripe from rostrum to tail speckled with light spots; supralabials with white streak; males with yellow on lower parts of forebody and flanks; venter glossy grey-white with darker markings.

Comparisons.

Dravidoseps goaensis comb. nov. can be diagnosed from D. pruthi comb. nov. (data in parentheses) based on the following characters: keeled scales on tail base (versus unkeeled scales on tail base); 29.0 ± 1.00 (28-30) RBS (versus 30.0 ± 0.00 (30)); 13.4 ± 0.79 (13-15) Lam4T (versus 16.1 ± 1.20 (14-18)); 18 or 19 RTS (versus 21-23 in D. pruthi comb. nov.). Dravidoseps goaensis comb. nov. is diagnosed against D. nilgiriensis comb. nov. and the new species described below as part of their respective descriptions.

Description of the neotype.

Adult female (SVL 54.9 mm) in good state of preservation except tail damaged at three places along its length, a 4.0 mm long incision in the sternal region for liver tissue collection, and 14.1 mm long incision at ventral mid-body (made after taking morphological data and photos) to check for eggs/ embryos (Fig. 12A, B View Figure 12 ). Head short (HL/SVL 0.15), wide (HW/HL 0.73), not strongly depressed (HH/HL 0.51), indistinct from neck. Loreal region not inflated, canthus rostralis indistinct. Snout almost half head length (ES/HL 0.40), twice eye diameter (ES/ED 2.00). Rostral twice as wide (1.8 mm) as long (0.9 mm), in broad contact with supranasals posteriorly and supralabial I and nasals on either side; supranasals in contact with each other medially, frontonasal posteriorly, nasals and anterior loreals laterally; frontonasal much wider (1.8 mm) than long (1.2 mm), in contact with supranasals anteriorly, prefrontals and frontal posteriorly, anterior loreals laterally; prefrontals relatively small, widely separated on midline, in contact anteriorly with frontonasal, posteriorly with frontal, first supraocular and first supraciliary, laterally with anterior and posterior loreals. Frontal elongate, roughly bell-shaped, widest anteriorly at the point where prefrontals and first supraocular connect; in contact with frontonasal anteriorly, frontoparietals posteriorly, prefrontals and first two supraoculars on either side; four supraoculars and one small post-supraocular and postocular on either side; frontoparietals in medial contact posterior to frontal, in contact with second, third and fourth supraoculars anterolaterally and parietals and interparietal posteriorly. Interparietal large, roughly diamond-shaped, slightly projecting posteriorly, eyespot in posterior projection; postinterparietal absent; parietals large, in medial contact posterior to interparietal, in contact anteriorly with frontoparietals, fourth supraocular, and post-supraocular, posteriorly with three nuchal scales and a single dorsal scale, laterally with first secondary temporal; two slightly enlarged nuchal scales on left and a single on right separated from each other by a single dorsal scale (Fig. 12C View Figure 12 ). Nasals small, trapezoidal, widely separated, in contact with rostral anteriorly, supranasal dorsally, anterior loreal posteriorly, first supralabial ventrally; nostril in center of nasal; anterior loreal marginally taller (0.6 mm) than wide (0.5 mm); posterior loreal slightly larger than anterior loreal and slightly wider (1.0 mm) than tall (0.7 mm); a single small supra-preocular, an upper and lower preocular, and a single sub-preocular present on either side (Fig. 12E View Figure 12 ). Eye small (ED/ HL 0.21) with round pupil; lower eyelid with enlarged, transparent central window; seven supraciliaries on either side, anterior supraciliary largest, bordered by prefrontal anteriorly, first supraocular dorsally, and pre-supraocular, upper preocular and posterior loreal laterally; posterior superciliary elongate and projecting dorsomedially, bordered by fourth supraocular dorsally, post-supraocular posteriorly, and first post-subocular laterally; four post-suboculars on either side; a single primary temporal, two secondary temporals, and three tertiary temporals on either side; seven supralabials, fifth below eye, elongate and in broad contact with four small scales on lower eyelid below eye on either side; a single post-supralabial on either side; six infralabials on either side; two scales separating post-supralabial and external ear opening; external ear opening small (EL/HL 0.07), oval, bearing a single anterior lobule on either side; tympanum deep (Fig. 12E View Figure 12 ). Mental twice as wide (1.8 mm) as long (0.9 mm); a single large postmental in contact with first and second infralabials on either side; three enlarged pairs of chin shields posterior to postmental; anterior pair large (1.6 mm), roughly rectangular, in medial contact with each other below postmental and bordered by second and third infralabials, middle pair of chin shields, and by a single median gular scale on either side; middle pair largest (1.8 mm), roughly rectangular, separated from each other by two longitudinally arranged gular scales, bordered by third and fourth infralabials, posterior pair of chin shields, and three gular scales on either side; posterior pair smallest (0.9 mm), roughly square, separated from each other by five transversely arranged gular scales, bordered by fourth and fifth infralabials and three gular scales on either side; rest of the gular scales much smaller than postmentals, cycloid and imbricate, two or three rows bordering infralabials slightly smaller and elongate (Fig. 12D View Figure 12 ).

Body relatively slender (BW/AGL 0.14), elongate (AGL/SVL = 0.62); dorsal scales on body smooth, cycloid, imbricate; ventrals similar to dorsals except subequal from chest to vent, marginally larger on pectoral and precloacal region; 64 scales in paravertebral rows; 30 scales around mid-body; 66 ventral scales; eight enlarged precloacal scales (Fig. 12A, B View Figure 12 ). Limbs, robust, short (FL/SVL = 0.05; CL/SVL = 0.07), widely separated when adpressed; dorsal scales slight larger than ventral scales; palmar scales raised; plantar scales large, raised, coarse granules; all digits short, scales on dorsal surfaces in single row, subdigital lamellae unpaired, smooth; lamellae series: 5-8-10-10-7 left manus, 6-9-12-13-9 left pes, 5-7-9-10-7 right manus (Fig. 12F View Figure 12 ), 5-10-11-13-10 right pes (Fig. 12G View Figure 12 ). Relative length of digits (measurements in mm in parentheses): IV (2.1)> III (2.0)> V (1.6)> II (1.5)> I (1.0) (left manus); IV (4.8)> III (3.2)> V (2.4)> II (2.1)> I (1.1) (left pes).

Tail original, entire, cylindrical, marginally shorter than snout-vent length (TL/SVL 0.94); damaged at three places at its length; dorsal and ventral scales on tail cycloid, imbricate, similar to those on body dorsum except for posterior 1/3rd on which median dorsal and subcaudal scale rows distinctly larger than surrounding scales; tail ending in a pointed scute; scales on lateral sides of tail base keeled, tricarinate; 19 scales around the tail (Fig. 12A, B View Figure 12 ).

Colouration in life (Fig. 9B).

Dorsal ground colouration of body, head and tail coconut brown with a bronze tint; head with scattered dark markings; dorsal scales of body and tail finely outlined by dark brown, centre of scales with dark markings forming indistinct stripes; limbs darker than body dorsum and with light spots; a thick stripe with a fine black dorsolateral border running from rostrum through orbit and onto flank and tail with scattered light spots, some scales with orange; supralabials with a white streak; ventral regions glossy, off-white with scattered black markings.

Variation and additional information.

Mensural and meristic data for the topotypic and additional specimens are given in Table 6 View Table 6 . There are three subadults, two adult males and a single adult female. All specimens resemble the neotype female (BNHS 2567) in overall morphology and head scalation except for the following variation: six SC on left and seven on right side in ZSI-R-28612; PoO absent on left side in NRC-AA-1303; NRC-AA-1302 and NRC-AA-1303 with entire and original tail, tail marginally longer than body (TL/SVL = 1.09 and 1.11 respectively); NRC-AA-1304 with entire but regenerated tail, much shorter than body (TL/SVL = 0.59); remaining three specimens with tail either completely or partially broken and missing. ZSI-R-28612 with partial everted hemipenis on either side.

Distribution and natural history.

Apart from the type locality ("ca. 5 kms NE of Forest Rest House, Molem [Goa]; Sharma, 1976), Dravidoseps goaensis comb. nov. has been recorded by us from Ustam and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, South Goa District in Goa State (<25 km south of the type locality) and from Amboli in Sindhudurg District, four localities (Dajipur, Talaye, Padivare, and Washi) Kolhapur District of Maharashtra State, India; all from the northern Western Ghats. The farthest two reported localities (Washi in north and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in south) are ~140 km apart from each other in aerial distance.

The four localities we recorded the species from are at elevations of 150-820 m and habitats vary from moist deciduous to semi evergreen and evergreen forest (Fig. 11B View Figure 11 ). At Ustam in South Goa, a single subadult was spotted moving in leaf-litter in the early afternoon (1240 hr) inside a private property; a single individual (not collected) was also observed moving in the leaf-litter in the afternoon (1400 hr) on outskirts of Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS), South Goa. At Amboli, both individuals were spotted moving in leaf-litter in the morning to afternoon (0930-1300 hrs). We recorded this species from multiple localities in similar habitats at Amboli. At other four localities (Dajipur, Talaye, Padivare, and Washi) in Kolhapur District, individuals were seen moving in the leaf-litter and also found in soil or under rocks during the day time. Sympatric lizards recorded at these localities were Cnemaspis goaensis Sharma (Ustam and Mhadei WLS); Cn. amboliensis Sayyed, Pyron & Dileepkumar, (Amboli); Cn. flaviventralis Sayyed, Pyron & Dahanukar (Ustam, Mhadei WLS, and Amboli); Cn. limayei Sayyed, Pyron & Dileepkumar (Dajipur and Talaye); Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) albofasciatus (Boulenger) (Ustam, Mhadei wls, Amboli); Cyrtodactylus (Geckoella) deccanensis ( Günther) (Dajipur, Talaye, Pandivare, and Washi); Hemidactylus frenatus ; Eutropis carinata ; E. macularia ; E. cf. allapallensis (Ustam and Mhadei WLS); Riopa guentheri (Peters); Calotes versicolor ; and Monilesaurus rouxii ( Duméril & Bibron).

Reproduction.

Viviparous, four embryos in early stages of development in holotype, ZSI 22032 (Fig. 8A View Figure 8 ).

Note.

Article 75.3.6 of The Code (Anonymous 1999) states that a neotype should be "nearly as practicable from the original type locality", however we chose a non-topotypic, adult female as the neotype as the single specimen from closest to the type locality is a subadult, and these were shown to belong to the same lineage genetically. Our neotype and other specimens match the original description provided by Sharma (1976) except for the following mensural and meristic characters: IO (2.6-3.5 mm versus 5 mm in original description); BW (5.6-8.2 mm versus 20 mm in original description); Elo (one or two on either side versus five). We could not verify the counts as the type specimens are lost (Pratyush Mohapatra pers. comm.). The measurements of IO and BW in original description are likely to be incorrect as none of the species in the genus have such high numbers, and the number of Elo most likely include left and right combined.