A divergent population of Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836 (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from the northern Eastern Ghats, India

Abstract

A population of Hemidactylus cf. frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836, was recorded from Tyda and its vicinity in the Ananthagiri Hills, northern Eastern Ghats, Vishakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Evaluation of morphometric and meristic characters supported by karyotyping revealed that populations from the Ananthagiri Hills are considerably different from other populations of H. frenatus occurring in India. We provide the detailed description of the male of this divergent population.