A new species of rock-dwelling Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the southern Eastern Ghats, India

Narayanan, Surya; Christopher, Peter J.; Raman, K; Mukherjee, Nilanjan; Pandurangan, Prabhu; Mahimainathan, Lenin; Vimalraj, Sivangnanaboopathidoss; Deepak, V.

doi:10.3897/vz.73.e104494

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Recent research on Hemidactylus has focused primarily on taxonomy and systematics (e.g. Ceriaco et al, 2020; Smid et al, 2020; 2023; Lobon-Rovira et al, 2021; Adhikari et al, 2022; Das et al,2022; Pal & Mirza, 2022; Khandekar et al, 2023; Narayanan et al, 2023), with fewer studies on biogeography (Lajmi et al, 2019; Murdoch, 2022), diversification (Lajmi & Karanth, 2020; Luzete et al, 2022), invasive potential and dispersal ecology (Agarwal et al, 2021; Rato et al, 2021; Lamb et al,2021; Lapwong et al, 2021), and ectoparasite biology (Borroto-Páez et al, 2020; Diaz et al, 2020). Although many of these studies involve phylogenetic reconstructions, they are mostly localized.…”

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confidence: 99%

Globetrotting geckos: Historical biogeography suggests an Indian origin and “Out-Of-India” dispersal for the cosmopolitanHemidactylusgeckos

Agashe,

Biswas,

Karanth

2024

Preprint

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Aim – Following the breakup of Gondwana dispersal events both into and out of India have influenced the biotic assembly of the surrounding landmasses. The cosmopolitan Hemidactylus presents an intriguing group to examine these instances, particularly given its sister relationship with the endemic Dravidogecko found in India′s Western Ghats. Despite earlier theories of Afro–Arabian or Southeast Asian origins for Hemidactylus, its deep divergence from Dravidogecko (~57 million years ago) suggests a potential Indian origin, thus contradicting an ″Into–India″ scenario proposed for the current Indian tetrapod groups. We thus aim to resolve the origins and shed light on the inter–continental dispersals in Hemidactylus by reconstructing its biogeographic history. Location – Worldwide Taxon – Hemidactylus Geckos Methods – We use six nuclear genes to reconstruct a reduced representation backbone phylogeny of Hemidactylus using likelihood, Bayesian, and coalescent based methods. We further assemble a timetree using a concatenated dataset of nuclear and mitochondrial markers from 132 of the 192 Hemidactylus species by constraining the topology with the backbone phylogeny and secondary calibrations. We use this chronogram to reconstruct ancestral geographic ranges using BioGeoBEARS, employing a time-stratified approach in conjunction with plate tectonics information to explicitly test four hypotheses regarding the origin of the genus — An Indian origin, a Southeast Asian origin, a Saharo–Arabian origin, or an Afrotropical origin. Results – Our findings suggest that the ancestral lineage of Hemidactylus and Dravidogecko colonized the drifting Indian plate from Southeast Asia approximately 57 million years ago, eventually evolving into the two genera in the Indian subcontinent. Following this, Hemidactylus dispersed multiple times from India to Africa and Asia. Main Conclusion – This study proposes an Indian origin for these widely distributed geckos, representing a rare instance of an ″Out–of–India″ dispersal scenario observed in a non–Gondwanan squamate group. Additionally, our research underscores the significance of incorporating sister taxa in biogeographic analyses to avoid misinterpretations of ancestral ranges.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globetrotting geckos: Historical biogeography suggests an Indian origin and “Out-Of-India” dispersal for the cosmopolitanHemidactylusgeckos

Agashe,

Biswas,

Karanth

2024

Preprint

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Two new species of South Asian Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Gingee Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

Khandekar,

Thackeray,

Kalaimani

et al. 2023

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We describe two new small-bodied, sympatric species of south Asian Cnemaspis belonging to the mysoriensis + adii clade from the Gingee Hills in Tamil Nadu, peninsular India. The two new species can be easily distinguished from the other eight described members of the mysoriensis + adii clade by their dorsal pholidosis, the configuration of femoral and precloacal pores in males, a number of meristic characters and subtle differences in colouration, beside 6.7–20.8 % uncorrected pairwise ND2 sequence divergence. The two species represent different ecomorphs, one a stouter, microhabitat generalist and the other a more slender, elongate rock specialist. The discovery of two new species from granite boulder habitats and Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests is indicative of the importance of these areas for biodiversity. It is likely that similar rocky habitats across southern peninsular India will harbour many more undescribed species.

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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

Agarwal,

Thackeray,

Khandekar

2024

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Subdoluseps is a recently described genus of Lygosomine skinks distributed in peninsular India and Southeast Asia. We conduct the first revision of Indian Subdoluseps based on range-wide sampling including 89 specimens from 33 localities. We use two mitochondrial and three nuclear markers, 58 morphological characters, and ecological data to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Indian Subdoluseps and assess their diversity and distribution, providing insights into lygosominin biogeography. We formally describe the Indian clade as a new genus, Dravidosepsgen. nov. and name five new species from Tamil Nadu, India in an integrative taxonomic framework – D. gingeeensissp. nov., D. jawadhuensissp. nov., D. kalakadensissp. nov., D. srivilliputhurensissp. nov., and D. tamilnaduensissp. nov.. We transfer Riopa goaensis, Subdoluseps pruthi and S. nilgiriensis to the new genus and designate neotypes for the former two. Members of Dravidosepsgen. nov. are the first known viviparous skinks from peninsular India and the only known viviparous lygosominins apart from a few species of east African Mochlus. The Lygosomini have a Southeast Asian origin and began diversifying in the Eocene with three dispersals between India and Southeast Asia. Species level diversification in Dravidosepsgen. nov. was likely driven by a combination of niche conservatism, paleoclimate and past forest distribution. The discovery of a new genus and five new species reiterates the high levels of diversity and endemism present in peninsular India and how much more remains to be discovered.

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A new species of rock-dwelling Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the southern Eastern Ghats, India

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

Globetrotting geckos: Historical biogeography suggests an Indian origin and “Out-Of-India” dispersal for the cosmopolitanHemidactylusgeckos

Globetrotting geckos: Historical biogeography suggests an Indian origin and “Out-Of-India” dispersal for the cosmopolitanHemidactylusgeckos

Two new species of South Asian Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Gingee Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

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

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