Studies on Pakistan reptiles. Pt. 3. Calotes versicolor

Vol. 5, pp. 14-30 Asiatic Herpetological Research December 1993 Studies on Pakistan Reptiles. Pt. 3. Calotes versicolor WALTER AUFFENBERG 1 AND HAFIZUR REHMAN 2 h008 NW 67 th Area. Gainesville, Fl., 32606, USA. 2 Zoology Survey Department, Karachi 1 , Pakistan Abstract: -Variation in the scutelation and color of Calotes versicolor populations in Pakistan are analyzed, leading to the recognition of a new subspecies (C v. nigrigularis) from the front ranges of the Himalayan Mountain complex in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Several variant populations of the same species in other parts of its range are noted, but not given taxonomic recognition at this time. Key words: Reptilia; Sauria; Lacertilia; Agamidae; Calotes Introduction Calotes versicolor , a large, common, widespread and showy lizard, was described early in the history of reptilian study in the Indian subcontinent (Daudin 1802, as Agama versicolor, type loc. "India", restricted to near Pondicherry, India by Kuhl 1820). Variation in color and scalation was also documented early, resulting in the description of several species (now synonyms, see Smith 1935 for review) and races. No subspecies are recognized at the present time, in spite of obvious geographic variation and a wide ecologic and geographic range.). The current study of color and scalation supports the contention of earlier workers that morphologically distinct populations with circumscribed geographic boundaries exist. The latest morphological study is by Tiwari and Aurofilio (1990), though it is restricted to populations from Tamil Nadu, India. During the collection of new material for a future major publication on the herpetology of Pakistan, populations of Calotes versicolor from the mountains of northern Pakistan were noted as being distinctly different from those in other parts of the country. This discovery suggested an analysis of geographic and sexual variation in several scute and color characters, similar to our earlier study of Pakistan Echis carinatus populations (Auffenberg and Rehman 1991). The following is the result of this analysis. Methods This study is based on slightly more than 500 specimens located in the 14 institutions listed below. The museum source of those specimens specifically referred to are identified by the abbreviations given. American Museum of Natural History, New York (AMNH); Natural History Museum, London (BMNH); Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS); California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (CAS); Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (FMNH); Museum of Comparative Zoology, Havard University (MCZ); Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad (PMNH); Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt (SMF); Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (FMNH/UF); University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (UMMZ); National Museum of Natural History, Washington (USNM); Zoological Survey Department, Karachi (ZSD); Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta (ZSI) and Alexander Koenig Museum, Bonn (ZFMK). All drawings were done by the senior author. Figure 1 shows the localities from which specimens were examined. Appendix 1 provides data on museum holdings of specimens examined from these geographic locations. No specimens with either general, questionable, or erroneous locality © 1993 by Asiatic Herpetological Research

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Studies on Pakistan reptiles. Pt. 3. Calotes versicolor

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