v13i1.317

Submitted date: 10 January 2024
Accepted date: 21 May 2024
Published date: 30 May 2024
Pp. 1–8, pls. 1–5.

A NEW MONTANE-DWELLING SPECIES OF Japalura GRAY, 1853 (SQUAMATA: AGAMIDAE) FROM ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Zeeshan A. Mirza*, Gaurang Gowande, Tejas Thackeray, Harshal Bhosale, Mandar Sawant, Pushkar Phansalkar & Harshil Patel
*Corresponding author. E-mail: snakeszeeshan@gmail.com

Abstract
The montane agamid lizard Japalura austeniana (Annandale, 1908), is rare and is distributed across parts of the eastern Himalayas of India and China. Support from molecular and morphological data provide evidence for the existence of a species complex in the populations referred to as that binomen, and we here describe a morphologically cryptic allied new species. Evidence from molecular data suggests the presence of additional undescribed species across the distribution of that species complex. Elevation might be the restricting factor for gene flow explaining most of the diversification of that montane species complex across the Himalayas.

Key words : Agamidae, biodiversity hotspot, biogeography, conservation, Himalayas, systematics

Section Editor: Ivan Ineich
LSID:urn:lsid:zoobank.org