Harikrishnan_Vasudevan_Calotes_andamanensis_HERPETOZOA.qxd 21.06.2013 12:18 Seite 1 herpeToZoA 26 (1/2): 3 - 13 3 wien, 30. Juni 2013 rediscovery of Calotes andamanensis Boulenger , 1891, and assessment of its generic allocation (squamata: sauria: Agamidae) wiederentdeckung von Calotes andamanensis Boulenger , 1891 und die Beurteilung seiner gattungszugehörigkeit (squamata: sauria: Agamidae) surenDrAn hArIKrIshnAn & KArThIKeyAn VAsuDeVAn KurZFAssung Die nur vom holotypus bekannte draconine Agame Calotes andamanensis Boulenger , 1891, wurde auf den Andamanen (India) wiedergefunden. Die Autoren legen morphometrische und meristische Daten von sechs exemplaren von drei Inseln des Andamanen-Archipels vor und machen ergänzende Angaben zur Beschreibung des Typusexemplares. nach der äußeren Morphologie der echsen ist ihre Zuordnung zur gattung Calotes nicht zutr - effend, vielmehr sollten sie in die gattung Pseudocalotes gestellt werden. ABsTrACT The little known draconine agamid lizard Calotes andamanensis Boulenger , 1891, was rediscovered from the Andaman Islands (India). The authors present morphometric and meristic data from six specimens originating from three islands of the Andaman Archipelago, and thereby add information to the description of the type speci - men. The lizard’s external morphology suggests that its generic assignment to Calotes in its present definition can - not be maintained and that this species should better be included in the genus Pseudocalotes . Key worDs reptilia: squamata: sauria: Agamidae; Calotes , Pseudocalotes andamanensis , lizard, systematics, taxo - nomy, Andaman Islands, nicobar Islands, India, Indo-China InTroDuCTIon The enigmatic agamid lizard Calotes in his “ liocephalus group”, which otherwise andamanensis (Boulenger , 1891 ) was de - included sri lankan endemic species. This scribed from a single specimen in the col - species was never again reported from the lection of the Zoologisk Museum, uni - Andaman and nicobar Islands or elsewhere. versity of Copenhagen (ZMuC) in Den - IshwAr & D As (1999) assigned a mark. The specimen was originally collect - specimen of Calotes from the Kalakkad- ed by Frederick Adolph De roepsTorFF , Mundanthurai Tiger reserve (KMTr) in the officer-in-charge of the British camp at southern part of the western ghats in India nancowry harbor, Andaman and nicobar to C. andamanensis , and suggested that the Islands ( sMITh 1935; K rIshnAn 2008). type locality “Andaman Islands” was prob - Boulenger (1891) did not elaborate on the ably assigned in error. Consequently, it was affinities of this species, but considered the not listed in a subsequent list of Andaman species to be closely related to the sri Island herpetofauna (D As 1999). however, lankan species Calotes liolepis Boulen- the specimen from KMTr was later de - ger , 1885 , and listed the differences be - scribed as Calotes aurantolabium KrIsh- tween C. andamanensis and C. liolepis viz., nAn , 2008. In this publication, KrIshnAn much larger scales and the presence of a (2008) discussed the differences of C. anda - pair of spine-like scales on each side of the manensis to other south Asian members of back of the head in the latter (B oulenger , the genus Calotes and provided a refined 1891). s MITh (1935) followed Boulenger ’s description of its holotype. Moreover, he (1891) opinion and placed C. andamanensis pointed out that the collector of the type Harikrishnan_Vasudevan_Calotes_andamanensis_HERPETOZOA.qxd 21.06.2013 12:18 Seite 2 4 s. hArIKrIshnAn & K. V AsuDeVAn specimen of C. andamanensis , De roeps- tified as C. andamanensis , but added that it TorFF , was posted in the nicobar Islands, is in a bad state of preservation and cannot thus suggesting that the specimen probably be diagnosed. This specimen was collected originated from there and not the Andaman from “Middle Andaman by Dr. gAnApAThy Islands. Although there is a submerged in 1964” ( VArAD gIrI , pers. comm.). mountain ridge running from the Andamans here, the authors report on six draco - to the nicobars, i. e., Arakan yomas to nine lizards from the Andaman Islands, pro - Mentawei Islands, these two island groups vide morphometric and meristic data on are separated by a deep channel known as these specimens and compare it with de - the Ten Degree Channel, which acts as a scriptions by Boulenger (1891) and KrIsh- zoogeographical barrier ( sMITh 1940; D As nAn (2008), and also with other and espe - 1999). KrIshnAn (2008) also mentioned a cially closely related species, as well as specimen in the collection of the Bombay Pseudocalotes species. natural history society (BnhM 710), iden - MATerIAls AnD MeThoDs The lizards, stored at the wildife Insti - 0.01 mm, the long distances snout-vent tute of India, Vertebrate Collections at Dehra length (sVl), leg length (ll), torso length Dun, uttarakhand, India (wII), originated (Trl), torso width (Trw), torso height (Trh) from three islands of the Andaman group: and tail length (Tl) to the nearest 0.1 mm. wII 001 – long Island (Middle Anda - The following measurements were record - man Islands), adult male, collected on 9 ed: snout-vent length (sVl - from tip of April, 2010, by harikrishnan, s. & Chand - snout to anterior edge of cloacal opening); ramouli, s. r. tail length (Tl - from posterior edge of cloa - wII 126 – rutland, adult female, col - cal opening to tip of tail); head length (hl - lected on 21 April, 2011, by harikrishnan, from tip of snout to posterior border of tym - s. & Chandramouli, s. r. panum, following hAllerMAnn [2005] as wII 055 – south Andaman, road to this avoids the potential ambiguity when Mt. harriet national park, near hopetown, head length is measured from snout tip to adult male, collected on 1 March, 2011, by occiput); head width (hw - maximum harikrishnan, s. & Chandramouli, s. r. width of head behind orbit); head depth (hD wII 056 – south Andaman, road to - height of head behind orbit), snout length Mt. harriet national park, near hopetown, (sl - distance between tip of snout and ante - adult male, collected on 1 March, 2011, by rior edge of orbit); jaw length (Jl - distance harikrishnan, s. & Chandramouli, s. r. from tip of lower jaw to the posterior mar - wII 072 – south Andaman, hopetown, gin of lower jaw); orbit diameter (oD - dis - adult female, collected on 8 March, 2011, tance between anterior and posterior edges by harikrishnan, s. of orbit); tympanum diameter (TD - dis - wII 125 – south Andaman, hopetown, tance between anterior and posterior edges adult male, collected on 20 March, 2011, by of tympanum); torso length (Trl - distance harikrishnan, s. between axilla and groin); torso width (Trw The long Island specimen was col - - width of the body at the middle of Trl); lected from a tree trunk at a height of two torso height (Trh - height of the body at the meters, the rutland specimen was found on middle of Trl); upper arm length (hum - a tree at four meters above ground. Two of distance between shoulder joint and elbow); the specimens from south Andaman were forearm length (rad - distance between captured on the ground, one on the trunk of elbow and wrist); length of fingers exclud - a tree three meters above the ground and ing the claw (F1, F2, F3, F4 & F5 numbered one climbing on the outer wall of a building successively); thigh length (Fem - distance (2.2 m above ground). between the groin and the knee); shank Measurements were taken with Mitu - length (Tib - distance between knee and toyo ® dial vernier calipers to the nearest ankle); length of toes excluding the claw Harikrishnan_Vasudevan_Calotes_andamanensis_HERPETOZOA.qxd 21.06.2013 12:18 Seite 3 rediscovery of Calotes andamanensis Boulenger , 1891 5 (T1, T2, T3, T4 & T5 numbered successive - different. specimen numbers given are the ly); leg length (ll - distance between the field catalogue numbers in the collection of groin and the tip of the fourth toe, excluding the wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun. the claw; measured by stretching the limbs). These specimens are part of an ongoing scales around the body were counted at half study and will be deposited in the Zoo - the distance between fore and hind limbs logical survey of India, Kolkata (ZsI) col - (sMITh , 1935). Canthals were counted along lection on completion of the study. Another the canthus rostralis between nasal and first specimen, a male found in wandoor (south supraorbital at the anterior edge of orbit. Andaman Island) in January 2009, was col - only the scales in contact with the mental lected and deposited in the collection of the were regarded as postmentals, excluding the Zoological survey of India, Marine region - first infralabials. al station, port Blair, Anda man and nicobar In the following description of six Islands, India (ZsI 10641). This was the freshly collected specimens, the character first specimen of this species collected by the states of the holotype of C. andamanensis authors of this paper. subsequent efforts to are indicated in parentheses, if they were locate this specimen were unsuccessful. resulTs Description of the draconine lizard sample 57-62 (67 in the holotype) longitudi - (Figs. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B) nal scale rows around midbody; scales of the upper 4-7 rows directed posterodorsally, head elongate (hw:hl = 0.59); pos - remaining lateral scales directed postero - terior part of jaw region swollen, particular - ventrally; scales of uppermost paravertebral ly in males; nostril placed within enlarged rows enlarged, heterogeneous in shape, pos - nasal; rostral in contact with 4-6 scales on terior ones feebly