Southern Ghats slender gecko

The Southern Ghats slender gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus) is a species of gecko with a restricted distribution in the hills of southern India.

Southern Ghats slender gecko
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae
Genus: Hemiphyllodactylus
Species:
H. aurantiacus
Binomial name
Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus
(Beddome, 1870)[2]
Synonyms

Hemiphyllodactylus typus ssp. aurantiacus (Beddome, 1870)

Description

Head oviform, longer than broad; snout rounded, very convex, slightly shorter than, distance between eye and ear-opening, l.3 times the diameter of orbit; ear-opening very small, round. Body elongate, more so in females than in males; limbs short, fore limb measuring half the distance between axilla and groin, or rather less. Digits short, free, inner very small, rudimentary; only two large chevron-shaped divided lamellae under the distal part of the digits, followed by transverse undivided lamellae, decreasing in width. Head covered with very minute granules; rostral and mental very small, former four-sided, latter pentagonal or triangular; nostril pierced between rostral, first labial, and several granules; labials very small, 9 or 10 upper and as many lower, no chin-shields. Back covered with very small granular scales, abdominal scales a little larger, flat, imbricate. Male with an angular series of 7 to 9 preanal pores. Tail cylindrical, tapering, covered with small imbricated smooth scales, larger below. Grey-brown above, with, along the head and back, dark-brown undulating lines, which may be broken up into spots; a dark brown streak from the tip of the snout to the fore limb, passing through the eye; whitish dots scattered on the head and back; tail with darker spots or annuli and two large whitish black-edged spots at the base, frequently and two large whitish black-edged spots at the base, frequently confluent mesially. Lower surfaces whitish, more or less speckled with brownish.[3]

From snout to vent 1.4 in (36 mm); tail 1.25 in (32 mm).

Distribution

S India (Anamallays = Anailmalais, Western Ghats, Bangalore, Kolli Hills) Type locality: "Shevaroys, under stones about Yercaud and elsewhere, at an elevation of 4,000 feet".

Notes
  1. Ganesh, S.R., Mohapatra, P., Srinivasulu, C. & Srinivasulu, B. (2021). "Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T158648207A158274194. Retrieved 12 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Beddome, R.H. 1870 Descriptions of some new lizards from the Madras Presidency. Madras Monthly J. Med. Sci. 1: 30-35
  3. Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.

References
  • Bauer, A.M. & Das, I. 1999 The systematic status of the endemic south Indian gecko Hemidactylus aurantiacus (Beddome 1870). J. South Asian Nat. Hist. 4 (2): 213-218
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