Paralaudakia himalayana (Steindachner, 1867)

Taxon Identity

Paralaudakia himalayana (Steindachner, 1867) has the following morphological characteristics.

Head Shape

The head is very depressed; the snout is slightly longer than the diameter of the orbit.

Nostril Position

The nostril is positioned laterally, below the canthus rostralis, and is slightly tubular.

Upper Head Scales

Upper head scales are smooth, and the occipital scale is not enlarged.

Spinose Head and Neck Scales

Small, closely set spinose scales are present on the head near the ear and on the neck.

Ear Structure

The ear is entirely exposed, and is larger than the eye opening.

Throat Morphology

The throat is strongly folded, and no gular pouch is present.

Body Shape

The body is depressed, with a more or less distinct fold on each side of the back.

Neck and Side Scales

Scales on the neck and sides are small, uniform, and either smooth or very weakly keeled.

Vertebral Region Scales

Scales in the vertebral region are enlarged, equal, roundish-hexagonal, imbricate, and also either smooth or very weakly keeled.

Ventral Scales

Ventral scales are smooth, and slightly smaller than the enlarged dorsal scales.

Limb and Digit Structure

The limbs are strong, with compressed digits.

Limb Surface Scales

Scales on the upper surface of the limbs are large and strongly keeled.

Finger Length Ratio

The fourth finger is slightly longer than the third finger.

Toe Length Ratio

The fourth toe is considerably longer than the third toe: the claw tip of the third toe does not reach the base of the claw of the fourth toe.

Fifth Toe Length

The fifth toe extends beyond the first toe.

Tail Structure and Scales

The tail is rounded, strongly depressed at the base, and covered with moderately sized, strongly keeled scales arranged in rings.

Tail Length

The tail length is 2.5 to 3 times the distance from the gular fold to the vent.

Male Pre-anal Scales

Males have a double or triple row of thickened pre-anal scales.

Dorsal Coloration

The species is olive-colored on the dorsal side, marbled with black, and typically marked with round light spots that form a network pattern.

Vertebral Band Pattern

Sometimes black spots form a festooned band along each side of the vertebral line.

Male Throat Coloration

Males have blackish marbling on the throat.

Geographical Distribution

This species is distributed in NE Afghanistan, N Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal, China (Xinjiang), SE Turkmenistan, and extends eastward through W Tajikistan to W Kyrgyzstan and E Uzbekistan.

Type Locality

Its type locality is Leh and Kargil, Ladakh Region.