Altitudinal Variations in Morphological Characters of Laudakia tuberculata Hardwicke and Gray, 1827 from Western Himalayas (Uttarakhand), India

Archana Bahuguna

Abstract


Laudakia tuberculata Hardwicke and Gray, 1827, a Kashmir rock agama, is distributed almost everywhere in Western Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India at various altitudes ranging from 150 to 3600 m a.s.l. Specimens of Laudakia tuberculata Hardwicke et Gray, 1827 were collected from different altitudes in Western Himalayas. Intraspecific variation in morphological characters was studied in specimens from Uttarakhand, India. Dorsal scales were smooth, with very low keels in samples collected from Harsil and Pachiyari near to Harsil (2494 and 2498 m respectively) in comparison with samples from other localities as revealed by SEM analysis. Morphometric and pholidosis characters were analyzed. Lizards of low altitude had longer toes than lizards of the same sex at higher elevation.

Keywords


Laudakia tuberculata; altitudinal morphological variation; Western Himalayas; India

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References


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