Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis, Grismer & Yushchenko & Pawangkhanant & Naiduangchan & Nazarov & Orlova & Suwannapoom & Poyarkov, 2020

Grismer, L. Lee, Yushchenko, Platon V., Pawangkhanant, Parinya, Naiduangchan, Mali, Nazarov, Roman A., Orlova, Valentina F., Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon & Poyarkov, Nikolay A., 2020, A new species of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker (Squamata; Gekkonidae) from Peninsular Thailand that converges in morphology and color pattern on Pseudogekko smaragdinus (Taylor) from the Philippines, Zootaxa 4816 (2), pp. 171-190 : 176-182

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4816.2.2
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:587ADBE0-4DE4-4DEE-8BC4-0D87329D87AA
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BD87BF-4B77-FF88-ADAA-FC00A1A7F923
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis sp. nov.

Spotted Slender Gecko

( Figs. 3 View FIGURE 3 , 4 View FIGURE 4 , Tables 3, 4)

Holotype. Adult female ( ZMMU R-16390, field Nos NAP-09689/ SP-122 ) collected from low-elevation bamboo mixed seasonally dry evergreen forest of the Huai Pha Pok area, Suan Phueng District, Ratchaburi Province, western Thailand (13.58544° N, 99.21316° E WGS; elevation 280 m a.s.l.) on 12 June 2019, at 2100 hrs by Platon V. Yushchenko ( Figs. 1 View FIGURE 1 , 3 View FIGURE 3 , 4A View FIGURE 4 ). GoogleMaps

Paratype. Adult female (AUP-00766; photo LSUDPC 11146 ) collected from lowland primary forest near in Phanom District, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand (8.90778° N, 98.53306° E; elevation 70 m a.s.l.) on 27 May 2018, at 2250 hrs by Parinya Pawangkhanant ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 , Fig. 4D View FIGURE 4 ) GoogleMaps .

Additional specimens examined (photographs). Adult female ( LSUDPC 11141 ) from Khao Sok National Park , Surat Thani Province, Thailand (ca. 8.7425°N 98.7531°E WGS; 160 m in elevation), recorded and photographed by Henrik Bringsøe ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ). Adult female ( LSUDPC 11144 ) from Panern Thung Mountain, Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand (ca. 12.910°N 99.6561°E WGS; 82 m in elevation), recorded and photographed by Parinya Pawangkhanant ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ). Tail tissue sample comes from the adult female specimen (not collected); sample ID number ZMMU SP-122-2 GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other species of Hemiphyllodactylus by well-separated and well-defined black spots on the head and body and possessing the unique combination of having a maximum SVL of 48.0 mm with a notably elongate and gracile body habitus (AG/SVL ratio 0.65–0.67); 11 chin scales; enlarged postmentals; five circumnasal scales; three intersupranasals (= postrostrals); 11 supralabials; nine infralabials; 21 longitudinally arranged dorsal scales at midbody contained within one eye diameter and 10 ventral scales; 3-3-3-3 digital formula on hands and 4-4-4-4 formula on the feet; three subdigital lamellae on the first finger and four subdigital lamellae on the first toe; no pore-bearing, femoroprecloacal scales; 14 pore-bearing precloacal scales in males (as inferred from the large pitted homologous scales in females) that extend part way onto the proximal femoral region; one cloacal spur on each side; no plate-like subcaudal scales; a dark postorbital stripe extending to at least base of neck; dorsolateral light-colored spots on trunk; no dark dorsolateral stripe on trunk; dark ventrolateral stripe on trunk variable but generally present in the anterior part of the body and neck region; no dark transverse bands, blotches, or paravertebral markings on trunk; well-separated, faint white spots on trunk; no light-colored postsacral marking bearing anteriorly projecting arms; and caecum and gonads pigmented. These characters are scored across all species in the Indochina clade and all Thai species of Hemiphyllodactylus ( Table 4), as well as from all other species of Hemiphyllodactylus from Myanmar and adjacent parts of Indochina in Grismer et al. (2017a, 2018 a, 2020), Sukprasert et al. (2018), and Eliades et al. (2019).

Description of holotype. Adult female SVL 46.6 mm; head triangular in dorsal profile, depressed, distinct from neck; lores flat; rostrum moderate in length (SN/SVL 0.11); prefrontal region weakly concave; canthus rostralis smoothly rounded, barely discernable; snout moderate, rounded in dorsal profile; eye large; ear opening elliptical, small; eye-ear distance greater than diameter of eye; rostral wider than high, bordered posteriorly by large supranasals; three equally sized intersupranasals (= postnasals); external nares bordered anteriorly by rostral, dorsally by supranasal, posteriorly by two postnasals, ventrally by first supralabial (= circumnasals); 11 (R,L) rectangular supralabials tapering to below posterior margin of eye; nine (R,L) rectangular infralabials not tapering to below posterior margin of eye; scales of rostrum, lores, top of head, and occiput small, raised, those of rostrum largest; dorsal superciliaries flat, mostly square, subimbricate, largest anteriorly; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabials and posteriorly by three postmentals, the medial postmental one-half the size of the outer postmentals; outer postmentals in contact with first infralabial and bordered laterally by a slightly smaller sublabial; 11 chin scales; gular scales small, subimbricate, grading posteriorly into slightly larger, subimbricate throat and even larger pectoral scales which grade into slightly larger, subimbricate ventrals.

Body gracile, elongate (AG/SVL 0.65), dorsoventrally compressed; ventrolateral folds absent; dorsal scales small, granular, 21 dorsal scales at midbody contained within one eye diameter; ventral scales flat, subimbricate much larger than dorsal scales, 10 ventral scales contained within one eye diameter; precloacal scales larger than abdominal scales; no pore-bearing femoral or precloacal scales; no enlarged femoral scales except for the most proximal two or three; nine enlarged pitted preclocal scales in an angular series, scale at apex lacks a pit; single enlarged tubercle (spur) on lateral margin of tail base; forelimbs short, robust in stature, covered with flat, subimbricate scales dorsally and ventrally; palmar scales slightly raised, subimbricate; all digits except digit I well-developed; digit I vestigial, clawless; distal subdigital lamellae of digits II–V undivided, angular and U-shaped, lamellae proximal to these transversely expanded; distal lamellar formula of digits II–V 3-3-3-3 (R,L); three transversely expanded lamellae on digit I; claws on digits II–V well developed, unsheathed; distal portions of digits strongly curved, terminal joint free, arising from central portion of lamellar pad; hind limbs short, more robust than forelimbs, covered with slightly raised, juxtaposed scales dorsally and by larger, flat subimbricate scales anteriorly and ventrally; plantar scales slightly raised, subimbricate; all digits except digit I well-developed; digit I vestigial, clawless; distal subdigital lamellae of digits II–V undivided, angular and U-shaped, lamellae proximal to these transversely expanded; distal lamellar formula of digits II–V 4-4-4-4 (R,L); four transversely expanded lamellae on digit I; claws on digits II–V well developed, unsheathed; distal portions of digits strongly curved, terminal joint free, arising from central portion of lamellar pad; tail broken, 15.7 mm in length, caudal scales occurring in whorls; dorsal caudal scales larger than dorsal body scales, flat, subcycloid, subimbricate; ventrolateral caudals slightly enlarged, weakly flared anteriorly; subcaudals flat, slightly larger than dorsal caudals, not plate-like. Morphometric data are presented in Table 3.

Coloration in preservative ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ). Ground-color of top of head, body, and limbs, light-brown; dark preorbital stripe extends to eye then becomes a lower postorbital stripe extending onto neck, terminating at shoulder and continuing as a ventro-lateral row of dark spots; dark stripe on canthus rostralis extends beyond eye to back of head as an upper postorbital stripe; area between upper and lower postorbital stripes white, extending posteriorly as a series of well-defined white spots along flanks to base of tail; well-defined, faint white spots scattered on dorsum; wellseparated, well-defined, dark spots semi-linearly arranged on head and dorsum, becoming a single row of medial spots on tail; dark spots on flanks more faint; dorsal surfaces of limbs bearing faint dark and white spots; venter beige with faint speckling.

Coloration in life ( Fig. 4A View FIGURE 4 ). The color pattern resembles that of the holotype in preservative. Background color of dorsal surfaces of head, body, limbs and tail yellowish-brown, lateral sides of head and body yellow, ventral surfaces of body whitish, gular area yellowish, translucent medially, getting brighter at mouth margins; dark spots on dorsum and tail, preocular and postocular stripes dark-brown, light-spots on flanks lemon-white, palpebral and cloacal regions bright-yellow, eye pupil vertical with serrated edges, iris bright coppery-orange with golden speckles and fine black reticulations throughout ( Fig. 4A View FIGURE 4 ).

Variation. Measurements and counts of the paratype female AUP-00766 are presented in Table 3, photographs of the paratype in life are shown in Figures 1 View FIGURE 1 and 4D View FIGURE 4 . Morphologically, the paratype resembles the holotype in all major characteristics. AUP-00766 has a complete tail which is slightly shorter than the SVL (86.3%) and has a more pronounced dark postocular stripe which continues posteriorly after the axilla forming a short dark ventrolateral stripe becoming slightly interrupted and fading at the midbody ( Fig. 4D View FIGURE 4 ).

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Distribution. Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis sp. nov. is endemic to Peninsular Thailand and is distributed along the northern section of the Tenasserim Mountain Range from at least Suan Phueng, Ratchaburi Province in the north to Phanom, Surat Thani Province in the south ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ). To date, the new species is confirmed from at least four localities in western and southern Thailand. The occurrence of the new species in the adjacent Tanintharyi Region of Myanmar is expected.

Natural History. At the type locality in the Suan Phueng District of Ratchaburi Province, the holotype was recorded at 2100 hrs hiding on a 20 cm wide trunk of a broadleaf bamboo tree ca. 2 m above the ground (see Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ) in disturbed, low-elevation, seasonally dry, mixed evergreen forest containing a dense undergrowth of bamboo ( Dendrocalamus sp.) at an elevation of 280 m a.s.l. Another specimen (not collected) was recorded at the type locality at a higher elevation (ca. 400 m a.s.l.) while lying lengthwise along the veins of Etlingera sp. (see Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ). In Phanom District of Surat Thani Province, the paratype was observed in lowland primary polydominant evergreen tropical forest at 70 m a.s.l. at 2230 while hiding in the node of the bamboo Bambusa sp. near (ca. 10 m) a small hut. A gravid female carrying two eggs ( Fig. 4C View FIGURE 4 ) was observed in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Petchaburi Province (LSUDPC 11144) during mid-May at 0700 hrs while basking in sunlight on an internode of a thick bamboo trunk. Another gravid female carrying two eggs ( Fig. 4B View FIGURE 4 ) was recorded in Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani (LSUDPC 11141) in a mixed evergreen forest with bamboo undergrowth. These observations suggest the new species is likely to be associated with bamboo tangles, as being that different species of bamboo were present at all the localities where it was recorded and in three observations, specimens were hiding in the internodes or basking on the stems.

Etymology. The specific epithet “ pardalis ” is an adjective in nominative singular, derived from the Latin “ pardus ”, meaning leopard, and is given in reference to the spotted, leopard-like, dorsal pattern characteristic of the new species.

Comparisons ( Table 4). The molecular analyses indicate that Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis sp. nov. is a genetically divergent member of the Indochina clade ( Table 2) and the sister species to the remaining species of the clade ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ). Hemiphyllodactylus pardalis sp. nov. is differentiated from all Hemiphyllodactylus by having a dorsal pattern consisting of well-separated and well-defined black spots on the head and body as well as faint, but welldefined white spots on the body ( Figs. 3 View FIGURE 3 , 4 View FIGURE 4 ) and a relatively longer axillia-groin length (0.65–0.67 vs. 0.37–0.57, collectively [ Table 4; Grismer et al. 2013, 2014, 2018 a, 2020; Agarwal et al. 2019]).

In the absence of additional male specimens, H. pardalis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species in the Indochina clade and Thailand except H. flaviventris Sukprasert, Sutthiwises, Lauhachinda & Taksintum , by lacking enlarged femoral scales that are homologous with the enlarged pore-bearing femoral scales in males. It differs further from all other species in the Indochina clade except H. dushanensis Zhou & Lui , H. flaviventris , H. huishuiensis Yan, Lin, Guo, Li & Zhou , and H. zugi Nguyen, Lehmann, Le Duc, Duong, Bonkowski & Ziegler in having 11 as opposed to 5–9 chin scales, collectively ( Zhou et al. 1981). It differs from all other species in the Indochina clade except H. dushanensis , H. flaviventris , H. hongkongensis Sung, Lee, Ng, Zhang & Yang , H. huishuiensis , and H. khlonglanensis Sukprasert, Sutthiwises, Lauhachinda & Taksintum , in having 21 as opposed to 12–18 chin scales, collectively and from H. serpispecus Eliades, Phimmachak, Sivogxay, Siler & Stuart which has 26. Other potentially diagnostic meristic characters across other species in the Indochina clade are listed in Table 4.