Until recently, the agamid species,
Japalura flaviceps
,
was recognized to have the widest geographic distribution
among members of the genus occurring in
China, from eastern Tibet to Shaanxi Province.
However, recent studies restricted the distribution of
J. flaviceps to the Dadu River valley only in northwestern
Sichuan Province, suggesting that records
of
J. flaviceps outside the Dadu River valley likely
represent undescribed diversity. During two herpetofaunal
surveys in 2013 and 2015, eight and 12
specimens of lizards of the genus
Japalura
were
collected from the upper Nujiang (=Salween) Valley
in eastern Tibet, China, and upper Lancang
(=Mekong) Valley in northwestern Yunnan, China,
respectively. These specimens display a unique
suite of diagnostic morphological characters. Our
robust comparisons of phenotype reveal that these
populations can be distinguished readily from
J.
flaviceps and all other recognized congeners. Herein,
we describe the two
Japalura lineages as new species,
Japalura laeviventris sp. nov. and
Japalura indina sp. nov.. In addition, we provide updated conservation
assessments for the new species as well
as imperiled congeners according to the IUCN criteria
for classification, discuss the importance of color
patterns in the diagnosis and description of species
in the genus
Japalura, and discuss directions for
future taxonomic studies of the group.
