Cyrtopodion kachhense

Cyrtopodion kachhense
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Infraorder:	Gekkota
Family:	Gekkonidae
Genus:	Cyrtopodion
Species:	C. kachhense
Binomial name
Cyrtopodion kachhense (Stoliczka, 1872)
Synonyms [2]
Gymnodactylus kachhensis Stoliczka, 1872 Tenuidactylus kachhensis — Khan & Tasnim, 1990 Cyrtopodion kachhensis — Rösler, 1995 Cyrtopodion kachhense — S. Anderson, 1999

Cyrtopodion kachhense, also known commonly as the Kachh gecko, the warty rock gecko, the ingoldbyi western ground gecko, and Ingoldby's stone gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to South Asia.

Taxonomy

Originally described as Gymnodactylus kachensis, this species was reassigned to the genus Tenuidactylus, and then later to the genus Cyrtopodion. The generic names, Gymnodactylus and Tenuidactylus are masculine, but the generic name, Cyrtopodion is neuter. Therefore, the specific name, kachhensis (masculine), had to be changed to kachhense (neuter) to agree in gender with Cyrtopodion.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. kachhense are caves, rocky areas, and shrubland. ^[1]

Reproduction

C. kachhense is oviparous. ^[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. ^[2]

• Cyrtopodion kachhense ingoldbyi(Procter, 1923)
• Cyrtopodion kachhense kachhense(Stoliczka, 1872)

Nota bene : A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Cyrtopodion.

Etymology

The subspecific name, ingoldbyi, is in honor of Captain Christopher Martin Ingoldby (1887–1927), who was an officer in the British Army Medical Services and collected zoological specimens. ^{[3] [4]}

Geographic range

The species, C. kachhense, is found in Pakistan (Sindh, Balochistan), adjacent India (Kachchh, Gujarat), and Iran. ^[2]

The subspecies, C. k. ingoldbyi, is widely distributed in the Sulaiman Range extending into the Waziristan Hills, along the western border of Punjab, Pakistan. ^[2]

The type locality of the species is "Ladha" (= Ladha, Dera Ismael Khan District, southeastern North Western Frontier Province, Pakistan). ^[2]

References

1. Mohapatra P, Vyas R, Srinivasulu C (2021). "Cyrtopodion kachhense". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T164666A1065489.en. Accessed on 04 May 2024.
2. Species Cyrtopodion kachhense at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Cyrtopodion kachhensis ingoldbyi, p. 130).
4. "Ingoldby Christopher Martin". RAMC Officers of the Malta Garrison. www.maltaramc.com/ramcoff/ingoldbycm.html.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I–XXXII. (Gymnodactylus kachhensis, pp. 29–30).
• Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Gymnodactylus kachhensis, p. 63).
• Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN   0-88359-056-5. (Cyrtopodion kachhense, p. 92).
• Ingoldby CM, Procter JB (1923). "Notes on a Collection of Reptilia from Waziristan and the Adjoining Portion of the N. W. Frontier Province". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society29 (1): 117–130. (Gymnodactylus ingoldbyi, new species, pp. 121–122).
• Khan MS (1998). "Validity, generic redesignation, and taxonomy of Western Rock Gecko Gymnodactylus ingoldbyi Procter, 1923". Russian Journal of Herpetol.4 (2): 83–88. [1997].
• Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Gymnodactylus kachhensis, pp. 43–44, Figure 15).
• Stoliczka F (1872). "Notes on the Reptilian and Amphibian Fauna of Kachh". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal1872: 71–85. (Gymnodactylus kachhensis, new species, p. 79).