Studies on Pakistan Lizards: Cyrtopodion baturense (Khan and Baig 1992) and Cyrtopodion walli (Ingoldby 1922) (Sauria: Gekkonidae)

Abstract

The taxonomy of Eurasian angular or thin-toed geckos has undergone a great deal of revision over the last 30 years. However, it is clear that a desirable level of taxonomic resolution has not yet been attained as their taxonomic assignments are somewhat arbitrary. In this paper, we discuss two lesser-known gecko species, Cyrtopodion baturense (Khan and Baig 1992) and C. walli (Ingoldby 1922). One adult specimen of Cyrtopodion baturense (the only known specimen other than the type series) and a series of 53 C. walli collected by Walter Auffenberg and the Zoological Survey Department of Pakistan (ZSD) and subsequently deposited in the University of Florida Herpetology collection were compared to the type specimens. Specimens were examined for 46 morphological characters and measurements. Cyrtopodion baturense and C. walli are diagnosable and confirmed to be distinct species. Cyrtopodion baturense is known only from the holotype locality of Pasu and the nearby village of Dih, Hunza District, in the Gilgit Agency, Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), Pakistan, at 2,438–3,078 m elevations. Cyrtopodion walli is known from Ayun, Chitral, Bamburet Valley, Bermoghluscht, Drosh Tehsil, and 7.0 km N Drosh, in the Chitral District, Northwest Frontier, Pakistan, at 1,970–2,120 m elevations. We also conclude that the likely paratype (BMNH 1922.5.22.1) of Gymnodactylus walli is not conspecific with the holotype (BMNH 1910.7.12.1) and is most morphologically similar to Cyrtopodion tibetanus (Boulenger 1905). We concur with Khan (1992), based on our own examination of the syntype of Gymnodactylus chitralensis Smith, 1935, that G. chitralensis is a junior synonym of Gymnodactylus walli Ingoldby, 1922. Furthermore, the tail associated with the holotype of G. walli does not belong to that individual.