A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Yunnan, China

A new species of the Cyrtodactyluschauquangensis group (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from the borderlands of extreme northern Thailand

Phylogenetic and morphological analyses delimit and diagnose, respectively, a new population of a karst-dwelling Cyrtodactylus from extreme northern Thailand. The new species, Cyrtodactylusphamiensis sp. nov., of the chauquangensis group inhabits karst caves and outcroppings and karst vegetation in the vicinity of Pha Mi Village in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Within the chauquangensis group, Cyrtodactylusphamiensis sp. nov. is the earliest diverging species of a strongly supported clade composed of the granite-dwelling C.doisuthep and the karst-dwelling sister species Cyrtodactylus sp. 6 and C.erythrops. The nearly continuous karstic habitat between the type locality of Cyrtodactylusphamiensis sp. nov. and its close relatives Cyrtodactylus sp. 6 and C.erythrops, extends for approximately 200 km along the border region of Thailand and the eastern limit of the Shan Plateau of Myanmar. Further exploration of this region, especially the entire eastern ~ 95% of the Shan Plateau, will undoubtably recover new populations whose species status will need evaluation. As in all other countries of Indochina and northern Sundaland, the continual discovery of new karst-dwelling populations of Cyrtodactylus shows no signs of tapering off, even in relatively well-collected areas. This only highlights the conservation priority that these unique karstic landscapes still lack on a large scale across all of Asia.

A new species of the Cyrtodactyluschauquangensis species group (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Lao Cai Province, Vietnam

We describe a new species of the genus Cyrtodactylus based on five adult specimens from Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam. Cyrtodactyluslucisp. nov. is distinguished from the remaining Indochinese bent-toed geckos by a combination of the following morphological characteristics: medium size (SVL up to 89.5 mm); dorsal tubercles in 17-19 irregular transverse rows; ventral scales in 32-34 longitudinal rows at midbody; precloacal pores present in both sexes, 9 or 10 in males, 8 or 9 in females; 12-15 enlarged femoral scales on each thigh; femoral pores 9-12 in males, 5-10 in females; postcloacal tubercles 2-4; lamellae under toe IV 21-23; dorsal pattern consisting of 5 or 6 irregular dark bands, a thin neckband without V-shape or triangle shape in the middle, top of head with dark brown blotches; subcaudal scales transversely enlarged. Molecular phylogenetic analyses recovered the new species as the sister taxon to C.gulinqingensis from Yunnan Province, China, with strong support from all analyses and the two taxa are separated by approximately 8.87-9.22% genetic divergence based on a fragment of the mitochondrial ND2 gene. This is the first representative of Cyrtodactylus known from Lao Cai Province.

A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from southwestern Yunnan, China

A new species of the Cyrtodactyluschauquangensis species group is described based on four specimens collected from the karst formations of Menglian County, Puer City, Yunnan Province, China. The new species can be separated from all other congeners by having a unique combination of morphological characters: a medium-sized body; ventrolateral folds present with interspersed small tubercles; seven precloacal pores in a continuous series in males, absent in females; enlarged femoral scales and femoral pores absent; two postcloacal tubercles on each side; and one or two rows of enlarged subcaudals. Genetically, the new species most closely related to C.wayakonei and the uncorrected sequence divergences of the ND2 gene and its flanking tRNAs between the new species and investigated congeners range from 7.2% to 18.4%.

A new insular species of the Cyrtodactyluspulchellus group (Reptilia, Gekkonidae) from Tarutao Island, southern Thailand revealed by morphological and genetic evidence

The bent-toed geckos of the Cyrtodactyluspulchellus group are widely distributed along the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Although taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of this species group have been continuously conducted, only some populations from Thailand have been included, resulting in hidden diversity within this group. In this study, we used morphological and molecular data to clarify the taxonomic status and describe a new population from Tarutao Island, Satun Province, southern Thailand. Cyrtodactylusstellatussp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following morphological characters: body size; tuberculation; number of dark body bands, ventral scales, and femoroprecloacal pores in males; presence of precloacal pores in females; and scattered pattern on dorsum. Phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial ND2 gene recovered the new species as the sister species to C.astrum, with an uncorrected pairwise divergence of 9.78–12.37%. Cyrtodactylusstellatussp. nov. is currently only known from Tarutao Island, Thailand. The discovery of this species suggests that the diversity within the C.pulchellus group remains underestimated and future exploration of unsurveyed areas are needed to further the understanding of this group and its geographic range.