Cyrtodactylus petani, Riyanto, Awal, Grismer, L. Lee & Wood, Perry L., 2015

Riyanto, Awal, Grismer, L. Lee & Wood, Perry L., 2015, The fourth Bent-toed Gecko of the genus Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Java, Indonesia, Zootaxa 4059 (2), pp. 351-363 : 353-359

Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov.

(Cicak Jari Lengkung Petani : Farmer’s Bent-toed Gecko) Figs. 2–4 .

Holotype. MZB.Lace.12899 (Field number AR5507), adult male, Purwodadi Botanical Garden, Purwodadi Village, Purwodadi Subdistrict, Pasuruan District, East Java Province, Indonesia (07o47’58.73” S; 112o44’13.73” E; 325 m asl), collected 18 October 2006 by Awal Riyanto and Mulyadi.

Paratype. MZB.Lace.11706, 11707, 11708, 11709, 11710, 11711, 11712, 11713, 11714, 11715, adult males, Jeladri Village, Winangon Subdistrict, Pasuruan District, East Java Province, Indonesia (07o46’15.8” S; 112o58’00.5” E; 129 m asl), collected 4 March 2014 by Awal Riyanto; MZB.Lace.12143, adult male, Mliwang Village, Kerek Subdistrict, Tuban District, East Java Province, Indonesia (06°49’59.4”S, 111°51’59.8”E; 86 m asl) collected by Awal Riyanto and Wahyu Trilaksono; MZB.Lace.12898, an adult male, Porong River, Sidoarjo City, East Java Province, Indonesia (7°26'48.37"S; 112°28'08.70"E), collected 17 October 2006 by Awal Riyanto and Mulyadi; MZB.Lace.12900, adult male, Purwodadi Botanical Garden, Purwodadi Village, Pasuruan District, East Java Province, Indonesia (7°47'58"S; 112°44'13"E; 325 m asl), collected 18 October 2006 by Awal Riyanto and Mulyadi.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. is distinguished from all Javan and Sundaic species by having a maximum SVL up to 57.2 mm; nine or 10 supralabials; seven or eight infralabials; strongly tuberculated body and limbs; 20–25 paravertebral tubercles; 30–35 ventral scales; enlarged femoral scales; enlarged precloacal scales; 17–18 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; 31–35 continuous precloacal and femoral pores in males, pores absent in females; precloacal groove absent, no enlarged median subcaudals; tubercles on anterior portion of tail; no reticulated pattern on head; paired dark blotches forming a V-shaped on occiput; blotched dorsal pattern; and no paired, dark, semi-lunar-shaped blotches on upper nape.

Description of holotype. Adult male, SVL 57.2 mm, TailL 81.2 mm; head triangular, moderately long (HeadL/SVL 0.28) and wide (HeadW/HeadL 0.68), somewhat depressed (HeadH/HeadL 0.40), distinct from neck; lores weakly inflated, prefrontal region concave, canthus rostralis smoothly rounded; snout short (SnEye/HeadL 0.36) and rounded; eye large (EyeD/HeadL 0.24); ear opening oblong, small (EarL/HeadL 0.09); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye (EyeEar/EyeD 1.26); rostral 2.6 times wider (2.9 mm) than deep (1.1 mm), incompletely divided dorsally by a median Y-shaped rostral groove, bordered posterodorsally by four granules of which three are large; nostril bordered anteriorly by rostral, dorsally by one anterior supranasal, posteriorly by three nasals, and ventrally by first supralabial; nine supralabial scales to rictus on right and nine supralabial scales on left sides; eight infralabial scales on left and right, first three largest; scales of rostrum, lores, crown, and occiput small and granular, occiput with few small tubercles; mental triangular, as wide (2.4 mm) as deep (1.9 mm), bordered laterally by first infralabial and posteriorly by paired elongate postmentals in contact medially for 60% of their length (Figure 3A); gular scales small and granular, grading posteriorly into slightly larger, flatter, throat scales, then into large, flat, imbricate pectoral and abdominal scales.

Figure 3. Comparison of mental region between Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. and C. marmoratus (A) Mental view of holotype Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov., MZB.Lace.12899, (B) Mental view of lectotype Cyrtodactylus marmoratus , RMNH 2710A (photo courtesy of Hinrich Kaiser).

Body relatively short (AGL/SVL ratio 0.47) with weak ventrolateral folds bearing tubercles; dorsal scales small and granular, interspersed with relatively high, trihedral, rounded, irregularly arranged tubercles with 19 longitudinal rows at midbody; 35 flat, imbricate ventral scales between indistinct ventrolateral body folds; ventral scales larger than dorsal scales. Forelimbs short (ForeaL/SVL 0.13); granular scales of forearms similar those of body; a few tubercles on dorsum of arm base; palmar scales slightly raised, smaller anteriorly than posteriorly; digits short, with inflection at basal interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae transversely expanded proximal to joint inflections, digits narrow distal to joints; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; subdigital lamellae on digits of manus: I(13), II(15), III(16), IV(15), V(13), relative lengths of manual digits: IV>V>III>II>I.

Hind limbs more robust than forelimbs, tibia relatively short (TBL/SVL 0.17), covered dorsally with granular scales interspersed with tubercles; ventral hind limb scales flat, larger than dorsals; enlarged precloacal scales present; enlarged femoral scales present in two series, posterior series largest and grading anteriorly into slightly smaller anterior series and then into granular subfemoral scales ( Figure 4 A); precloacal groove absent but a slight depression present; 35 precloaco-femoral pores in Ʌ-shape; digits short, subdigital lamellae of pes transversely expanded proximal to inflected joints, digits narrow distal to joints; number of subdigital lamellae on pes: I(12), II(15), III(17), IV(18), V(15), relative length of pedal digits: IV>V>III>II>I; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale.

Tail original, TailL/SVL 1.42, robust at base, tapering to terminus; dorsal caudal scales granular with six small tubercles on anterior caudal whorls; two post-cloacal spurs on each side of vent; subcaudals small, flat, imbricate, smooth, and rounded, lacking enlarged median subcaudals.

Coloration in life. Top of head lacking a dark reticulate pattern; lateral portion of head bearing a dark line extending from nostril, passing through eye and terminating on upper ear; ventrolateral region of head bearing yellowish spots; upper labial scales lighter brown with some yellow and black spots, lower labial scales not as dark as the upper labial scales only with some yellow spots; body dorsum light-brown, bearing small yellowish spots mixed with dark-brown tubercles; seven black, paired blotches between axilla and groin; venter white, border of some scales yellowish; dorsal part of limbs light-brown mixed between black and yellowish tubercles, ventral part of limbs white, some scales with yellowish border; ventrolateral and ventral portion of tail yellowish.

Variation. Males have precloaco-femoral pores and a precloacal groove, whereas females do not. Detailed variation of mensural and meristic characters of are presented in Table 2.

Etymology. The specific epithet petani refers to the fact that the type series was collected on a farm. Petani means a farmer in the Indonesian Language and is here treated as a noun in apposition.

Comparison. Cyrtodactylus petani sp.nov. differs from its sister species C. batucolus Grismer, Chan, Grismer, Wood & Belabut, 2008 by having fewer precloaco-femoral pores (31–35 versus 43–46) and a smaller maximum SVL (57.2 mm versus 75.2 mm). Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. differs from C. seribuatensis Grismer & Youmans, 2006 in having fewer precloaco-femoral pores (31–35 versus 40–43) and a smaller maximum SVL (57.2 mm versus 75 mm). The new species is distinguished from C. fumosus by lacking a precloacal groove, having fewer paravertebral tubercles (20–25 versus 30–33), fewer subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe (17–18 versus 22), fewer precloaco-femoral pores (31–35 versus 46–50) and a smaller maximum SVL (57.2 mm versus 75.2 mm). From C. marmoratus sensu stricto (lectotypes; see R ӧsler et al. 2007) it can differentiated by having tubercles in the ventrolateral body fold, fewer ventral scales (30–35 versus 38–47), fewer precloaco-femoral pores (31–35 versus 45–50) and fewer subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe (17–18 versus 20–24 lamellae). It can be differentiated from C. semiadii Riyanto, Bauer & Yudha, 2010 by having tuberculation on both forelimbs and hind limbs, presence of precloaco-femoral scales and fewer paravertebral tubercles (20–25 versus 37–40).

Distribution and natural history. Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. is known only from East Java ( Fig.5 ). The type series was collected from a variety of habitats, i.e. paddy field embankments, rocks in a farm garden, rocks on the riverbank, trees on the border of a farm garden, and teak forests ( Fig. 6 ). All were found no more than 40 cm above the ground. MZB.Lace.12898 was collected along the edge of Porong River on a cement bank. MZB.Lace.12899 and 12900 were collected on the edges drains in the Purwodadi Botanical Garden between 1730 and 2100 h while foraging. This indicates that this species lives in variety of habitats, including modified environments, especially agricultural areas.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Living specimens of Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. from Jeladri, Pasuruan, Java. (A) Adult male paratype MZB. Lace 11712 (SVL = 56.6 mm). (B) Gravid female paratype MZB. Lace 11711. (SVL = 53.8 mm).

FIGURE 4. Comparison of precloacal and femoral regions between the new species and other Javan species. (A) Holotype Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov, MZB. Lace. 12899, (B) Cyrtodactylus fumosus, MZB. Lace 12903, from mount Talaga Bodas, West Java, and (C) Cyrtodactylus marmoratus, MZB. Lace 12139) from mount Selamet, Central Java. Specimens have been stained to accentuate scale borders and pores.

FIGURE 5. Distribution map of Javan Cyrtodactylus. Red circle is holotype of Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. Green circles are paratype localities of C. petani. Yellow circles are known localities of C. semiadii. The distribution of the widespread species, C. marmoratus and C. fumosus are not shown.

FIGURE 6. Microhabitats where specimens of Cyrtodactylus petani sp. nov. were collected. (A) paddy field embankment with vegetation. (B) Rocks in the riverbank. (C) Rocks in the farm garden. (D) Rocks in the teak forest.