identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
C6C9157C9982571E9B70B052641957EA.text	C6C9157C9982571E9B70B052641957EA.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Acanthosaura aurantiogularis Wang, Lu & Che 2026	<div><p>Acanthosaura aurantiogularis Wang, Lu &amp; Che sp. nov.</p><p>Table 3; Figs 4, 5, 6, 7</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>Holotype. China • ♂; Yunnan Province, Pu’er, Menglian County, Fuyan Township, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=99.44631&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=22.447924" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 99.44631/lat 22.447924)">Yinggou Village</a>; 22.44792328°N, 99.44631053°E, elevation 1154 m (GCJ 02); 23 July 2025; Zhuo-Yu Lu, Xian-Kun Huang, Xiang-Jin Liu, and Ming-Ru Su leg.; GenBank: PZ 733437 and PZ 715332; KIZ 61664 . Paratypes. China • 1 ♀; Yunnan Province, Pu’er, Menglian County, Mengma township, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=99.38064&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=22.216423" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 99.38064/lat 22.216423)">Mengma Waterfall</a>; 22.21642307°N, 99.38063466°E, elevation 1061 m (GCJ 02); 20 July 2025; Zhuo-Yu Lu, Xian-Kun Huang, Xiang-Jin Liu, and Ming-Ru Su leg.; GenBank: PZ 733438 and PZ 715334; KIZ 55233 ; • 1 ♀; same collection data as the proceeding, GenBank PZ 733439, PZ 733436, PZ 715333; KIZ 61665 .</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific epithet aurantiogularis is a compound Neo-Latin adjective derived from the Latin aurantius, meaning “ orange-colored, ” and gularis, meaning “ the throat ”. This nomenclature is a direct descriptor of the lizard’s most striking and diagnostic morphological feature: the vibrant, unmarked orange-yellow gular pouch in males. The suggested Chinese common name is “橙喉棘蜥” (Pinyin: Chéng Hóu Jí Xī), and the suggested English common name is Orange-throated Pricklenape.</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>Acanthosaura aurantiogularis sp. nov. can be diagnosed from congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) tail short, TAL 167 % SVL in female; (2) length of post-orbital and occipital spines moderate, LOPS 11.0–15.1 % HL, LLOC 9.5–15.9 % HL; (3) nuchal crest erected, 5 or 6, discontinuous from dorsal crests, TNCL 13.8–18.7 % HL; (4) diastema short, composed of 6–8 small scales; (5) dorsal crest erected, anterior most one shorter than nuchal, decreasing in length posteriorly; (6) enlarged middorsal crest scales 41; (7) gular pouch moderately developed, transverse gular fold present; (8) dorsal body scales heterogeneous, enlarged, conical scales scattered on dorsum, some clustering into short vertical or oblique rows; (9) dorsal background olive green, with enlarged dorsal scales bright green; (10) black eye patch discontinuous from black collar pattern on neck; (11) lips bright green or whitish green; (12) ventral body distinct from dorsal in coloration, dark grayish white in females, off-white in male; (13) large, elongated gular spot present in male only, bright orange, with irregular, cloud-like, dark gray patterns on lateral gular; and (14) oral cavity and tongue pink-flesh colored.</p><p>Comparison.</p><p>Acanthosaura aurantiogularis sp. nov. is most similar to A. tongbiguanensis phylogenetically based on available data, and both species are geographically close in distribution. However, A. aurantiogularis sp. nov. can be diagnosed from the latter by having fewer lamellae under IV toe (23 or 24 vs. 25–28, Mann-Whitney U test p &lt;0.05), fewer enlarged crest scales (MC 41 vs. 45–52, Mann-Whitney U test p &lt;0.05), a distinct dorsal background coloration (green vs. light brown or blackish brown), the dark eye patch and the neck collar pattern discontinuous (vs. continuous), and by the presence of orange gular spot in males (vs. absence).</p><p>Phylogenetically, A. aurantiogularis sp. nov. belongs in the A. crucigera complex, but it can be readily diagnosed from A. crucigera (and its synonym, A. horrescens Lönnberg, 1916) by having longer post-orbital spines (LOPS 11.0–15.1 % HL vs. 7.0–8.0 %), fewer nuchal crests anterior of the diastema (5 or 6 vs. 9 or 10), having a distinct gular spot in males (vs. absent), a distinct coloration around eyes (a distinct blackish patch expands across eye vs. thin radial stripes around eyes), and a distinct dorsal background coloration (green vs. brown); from A. aurantiacrista Trivalairat, Kunya, Chanhome, Sumontha, Vasaruchapong, Chomngam &amp; Chiangkul, 2020, A. bintangensis Wood, Grismer, Grismer, Ahmad, Onn &amp; Bauer, 2009, A. meridiona Trivalairat, Sumontha, Kunya &amp; Chiangkul, 2022, A. phuketensis Pauwels, Sumontha, Kunya, Nitikul, Samphanthamit, Wood &amp; Grismer, 2015, and A. titiwangsaensis Wood, Grismer, Grismer, Ahmad, Onn &amp; Bauer, 2009 by the presence of distinct gular coloration (orange vs. yellow, white, or black), fewer nuchal crest scales anterior of the diastema (5 or 6 vs. 8–10), and a distinct dorsal coloration (green vs. brown).</p><p>Morphologically, the new species resembles A. rubrilabris, both of which have an overall green coloration and an orange gular region in males. Furthermore, both species are found in Pu’er, Yunnan Province. However, A. aurantiogularis sp. nov. can be readily diagnosed from A. rubrilabris by having longer post-orbital spines (LOPS 15.1 % HL in males, 11.0–14.0 % in females vs. &lt;12 % in males, &lt;9 % in females), much better developed dorsal crests (vs. underdeveloped and feeble), and a distinct oral coloration in both sexes (flesh color vs. bluish gray to purplish black).</p><p>For other species that are closely distributed, including A. lepidogaster, A. liui Liu, Hou, Mo &amp; Rao, 2020, and A. longicauda, the new species differs from all by the presence of a distinct orange gular spot in males (vs. absence). Additionally, A. aurantiogularis sp. nov. differs from A. longicauda and A. lepidogaster by the presence of a transverse gular fold in life (vs. absence) and a distinct oral coloration in life (pink-flesh color vs. purplish black); and from A. liui by having a longer post-orbital spines (LOPS 11.0–15.1 % HL vs. &lt;10.7 %), a distinct dorsal head coloration (green vs. grayish white), and a disconnection between the brownish black eye stripe and the nuchal collar (vs. connected).</p><p>Description of holotype.</p><p>Young adult male, SVL 80.0 mm, body not compressed, cross-section near triangular; tail slender, bulgy posteriorly at base, incomplete at tip; limbs relatively long, forelimb length 56.4 % SVL, HLL 92.2 % SVL.</p><p>Head robust, HW 67.6 % HL, HD 53.5 % HL, HD 79.1 % HW, SEL 39.0 % HL. Rostral rectangular, length three times longer than height, bordering five small scales excluding supralabials; supralabials smooth, 10 / 10, sixth to ninth inferior of eye; dorsal head scales heterogeneous, all keeled; keels on medial snout forming a weak lateral ridge anterior of eye position; nasal oval, single scale row away from rostral and first supralabial; loreal nearly homogeneous, keeled, seven linearly between nasal and anterior-most edge of ciliaries; canthus rostralis distinct, 11 scales along canthus ridge between nasal and post-orbital spine, slightly overlapping; suborbital scale rows three, medial row slightly smaller, all keeled; eye surrounded by fine ciliaries; post-orbital spine distinct, LOPS 11.0 % HL, shorter than occipital spine, LPOS 51.8 % LOC; tympanum oval, longer diameter vertically, exposed, TD 57.1 % OD; distinctively enlarged, conical scales post rictus, 6 / 9; occipital spine surrounded by four smaller conical scales at base; no supratympanic spines. Nuchal crest six, all erected, laterally compressed, triangular shaped, increasing size posteriorly, TNCL 14.7 % HL, supported by distinctively keeled, smaller scales inferiorly on both sides, separated from dorsal crest by distinct diastema; diastema short, LD 17.6 % HL, comprising eight small scales; dorsal crest triangular shaped, laterally compressed, anterior dorsal crest scales about same size as second nuchal, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly, all supported by distinctively keeled scales inferiorly on both sides. Shoulder fold present, shallow; dorsal background scales of body fine, all moderately keeled, nearly homogeneous, intermixed with enlarged, conical scales; some enlarged conical scales in clusters or oblique rows near the dorsal crest. Forelimbs scales nearly homogeneous, all distinctively keeled, with keels of individual scales aligned forming continuous keels from proximal to distal end; scales of dorsal thigh somewhat heterogeneous, keels of individual scales less organized; scales of crust same as forelimbs. Dorsal tail scales moderately keeled anteriorly, strongly keeled posteriorly.</p><p>Mental scale small, not enclosed by first pair of chin shields; infralabials smooth, smaller than supralabials, 10 / 12; chin shields relatively small, smooth, 5 / 5; remaining gulars nearly homogeneous, slightly enlarged toward medial-central region, all distinctively keeled, intermixed with a few enlarged subconical scales posterolaterally. Transverse gular fold feeble, gular pouch weak. Ventral body scales nearly homogeneous, larger than background dorsals, all distinctively keeled. Ventral limb scales weakly keeled; ventral tail scales all distinctively keeled, with keels aligned into lateral ridges.</p><p>Coloration.</p><p>Dorsal surfaces of the head, limbs, and body are dark green. A distinct blackish brown eye patch extents from the anterior loreal across the eye to the anterior surface of tympanum. Lips are off-white, distinct from the background green color and blackish eye stripe. The lateral surface of the neck is light whiteish green. A distinct blackish brown collar patch is present on the diastema, extending posteriorly across the dorsal neck and inferiorly along the shoulder fold to clavicle region. The color of enlarged conical scales of dorsum is lighter than background scales, some of which are even bluish green. Faint brown, oblique streaks are present along dorsum, clearer posteriorly. Dorsal coloration gradually transitions into light brown posterior of cloaca. The tail is banded with dark brown, with the bands gradually fading posteriorly. The dorsal surface of limbs is patterned with dirty brown, irregularly shaped transverse streaks or patches.</p><p>The background color of the ventral surfaces of the head, body, limbs, and tail is flesh color. A distinct, spear-like, orange colored gular spot is present on the ventral head, with its tip starting at about fifth infralabial and the end extending on anterior chest. Faint, marble shaped dark gray patterns are present abutting the orange gular spot laterally. The oral cavity and tongue are both flesh color.</p><p>Variation.</p><p>Morphometric and pholidosis variation is summarized in Table 3. Additionally, sexual dichromatism is evident despite the small sample size. Specifically, females lack the orange gular spot, the lips are bright green instead of white, and the ventral coloration is white.</p><p>Natural history.</p><p>All specimens were collected at night, and the paratypes were found by a medium sized stream (about 2 m in width) downstream from a waterfall, sleeping on stems of plants about 1 m above the ground (Fig. 7). The waterfall was a tourist site, but it was still surrounded by well-preserved evergreen broadleaf forest. Agamids of other genera (i. e., Calotes emma and Paracalotes microlepis) were collected not too far away from the micro-habitat of the new species. Currently, the new species is known from its type locality, but given the close geographic distance and continuous habitats, it is expected across the border in northern Shan State, Myanmar.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/C6C9157C9982571E9B70B052641957EA	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Wang, Kai;Lu, Zhuo-Yu;Zhao, Gui-Gang;Shi, Wei;Wan, Ru-Wen;Zhu, Na;Jin, Jie-Qiong;Che, Jing	Wang, Kai, Lu, Zhuo-Yu, Zhao, Gui-Gang, Shi, Wei, Wan, Ru-Wen, Zhu, Na, Jin, Jie-Qiong, Che, Jing (2026): A new species of the genus Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Reptilia, Lacertilia, Agamidae) from the China-Myanmar border region in southwestern Yunnan Province, China. ZooKeys 1290: 319-337, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1290.195408
