Cyrtodactylus metropolis, Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Onn, Chan Kin, Anuar, Shahrul & Muin, Mohd Abdul, 2014

Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Onn, Chan Kin, Anuar, Shahrul & Muin, Mohd Abdul, 2014, Cyrts in the city: A new Bent-toed Gecko (Genus Cyrtodactylus) is the only endemic species of vertebrate from Batu Caves, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia, Zootaxa 3774 (4), pp. 381-394 : 387-391

Cyrtodactylus metropolis new species

Batu Caves Bent-toed Gecko ( Fig. 3 )

Gymnodactylus pulchellus Boulenger 1903:148 , Boulenger 1912:37 Cyrtodactylus sp. Moseley, Lim & Lim 2012:79

Holotype. Adult male ( LSUHC 11347) from base of the Batu Caves massif east of Temple Cave, Gombak District, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia (3°14’.54” N 101°41’02.24” E; 75 m) collected by Chan Kin Onn and L. Lee Grismer on 16 July 2013.

Paratypes. Female paratypes ( LSUHC 11342–43, 11345) bear the same collection data as the holotype.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. is differentiated from its Sundaland congeners by having the unique combination of a maximum SVL of 82.2 mm; nine or 10 supralabials; seven or eight infralabials; moderately tuberculated body and limbs; 32–34 paravertebral tubercles; 37–44 ventral scales; abrupt contact between large and small postfemoral scales; enlarged femoral scales; 20 or 21 subdigital lamellae; no femoral pores; no deep precloacal groove; nine enlarged precloacal pore-bearing scales in males; no enlarged median subcaudals; tubercles on the anterior portion of the dorsal side of the tail; no reticulated pattern on head; having a blotched dorsal pattern; and lacking the paired, dark, semi-lunar shaped blotches on the upper nape prominently outlined in white. These and other characters are scored for all Sundaland species (Girsmer et al. 2012a; Table 4 ) and for all species in the C. semenanjungensis complex ( Table 5).

.

nov

.

sp

metropolis

seribuatensis batucolus

semenanjungensis majulah pantiensis payacola

Supralabials 9,10 8–10 9– 11 11–15 8, 9 10,11 10 Infralabials 7, 8 7–10 9– 11 10–12 7, 8 9,10 8–10 Paravertebral tubercles 32–34 27–35 30–35 32–37 39–46 35–37 37–39 Ventral scales 37–44 28–39 40–45 48–53 43–51 40–45 37–50 Description of holotype. Adult male SVL 82.2 mm; head moderate in length (HL/SVL 0.28) and wide (HW/ HL 0.65), flat (HD/HL 0.41), distinct from neck, and triangular in dorsal profile; lores weakly inflated, prefrontal region deeply concave, canthus rostralis rounded; snout elongate (ES/HL 0.43), rounded in dorsal profile; eye large (ED/HL 0.24); ear opening elliptical, obliquely oriented, moderate in size (EL/HL 0.07); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye; rostral rectangular, partially divided dorsally by an inverted Y-shaped furrow, bordered posteriorly by large left and right supranasals and two smaller internasals, laterally by first supralabials; external nares bordered anteriorly by rostral, dorsally by large supranasal, posteriorly by four small postnasals and ventrally by first supralabial; 10 (R,L) rectangular supralabials extending to just beyond upturn of labial margins tapering abruptly below midpoint of eye, first supralabial largest; seven (R,L) infralabials tapering smoothly posteriorly to beyond orbit; scales of rostrum and lores slightly raised, slightly larger than granular scales on top of head and occiput; patch of skin missing from top of head; scales of occiput intermixed with slightly enlarged tubercles; dorsal superciliaries not elongate or keeled; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabials and posteriorly by large left and right trapezoidal postmentals which contact medially for 50% of their length posterior to mental; one row of slightly enlarged, elongate sublabials extending posteriorly to 5th infralabial; gular and throat scales small, granular, grading posteriorly into slightly larger, flatter, smooth, imbricate, pectoral and ventral scales.

Body relatively short (AG/SVL 0.44) with poorly defined ventrolateral folds; dorsal scales small, granular interspersed with moderately sized, conical, semi-regularly arranged, weakly keeled tubercles; tubercles extend from occiput onto base of tail but no farther; tubercles on occiput and nape very small, those on body largest; approximately 22 longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody between ventrolateral, body folds; 34 paravertebral tubercles on body; 44 flat, imbricate, ventral scales between ventrolateral, body folds, ventral scales larger than dorsal scales; nine large, pore-bearing, precloacal scales; no deep precloacal groove or depression.

Forelimbs moderate in stature, relatively short (FL/SVL 0.16); granular scales of forearm larger than those on body, not interspersed with tubercles; palmar scales rounded, slightly raised; digits well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae transversely expanded proximal to joint inflections, more granular distal to inflection; digits slightly more narrow distal to inflections; claws well-developed, claw base sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; hind limbs more robust than forelimbs, moderate in length (TBL/SVL 0.18), covered dorsally by granular scales interspersed with large, conical tubercles and anteriorly by flat, slightly larger scales; ventral scales of thigh flat, imbricate, larger than dorsals; ventral tibial scales flat, imbricate; no rows of enlarged, flat, imbricate, femoral scales; small postfemoral scales do not form an abrupt union with large ventral scales of posteroventral margin of thigh; plantar scales low, flat; digits well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae transversely expanded proximal to inflections, more granular distal to inflections, digits more narrow distal to inflections; 21 subdigital lamellae on right 4th toe, 20 on left; claws well-developed, base of claw sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale.

Tail moderate in proportions, 91.5 mm in length, original, 7.0 mm in width at base, tapering to a point; dorsal scales of base of tail granular becoming flatter posteriorly; no median row of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; subcaudal scales larger than dorsal caudal scales; no cauda tubercles; two enlarged, postcloacal tubercles at base of tail on hemipenal swelling; all postcloacal scales flat.

Coloration in life ( Fig. 3 ). Dorsal ground color of head, neck, trunk, limbs, and tail brown; beige mottling on head and rostrum; beige postorbital stripe extending to above ear opening; one short, narrow, beige band on nape; four beige, narrow bands between limb insertions continuing onto tail and encircling it; second and third bands bifurcate on the right and left side, respectively; irregularly shaped bands on limbs; ventral surfaces of head, neck, body and limbs beige with fine black stippling on each scale; subcaudal region gray, encircled by white bands; iris dark bronze.

Variation. The general coloration and pattern of the paratypes closely match that of the holotype ( Fig. 3 ). Dorsal bands of the paratypes do not bifurcate. LSUHC 11345 has a regenerated tail bearing a unicolor grayish coloration. LSUHC 11342 is a subadult female and has a more bold color pattern ( Fig. 3 ). Meristic differences are shown in Table 6 .

Distribution. Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. is known only from the Batu Caves massif ( Fig. 4 ). It is expected not to be found elsewhere, as there is no known limestone forest in the near vicinity.

Natural history. Nineteen lizards were observed at night on karst and in the surrounding limestone forest vegetation up to two meters above the ground ( Fig. 5 ). Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. is an extremely wary species that flees at the slightest provocation. In nearly all cases, lizards retreated to the base of a tree or rock and sought refuge in accumulated debris. One lizard ran nearly two meters along a narrow branch to reach the base of a fern, although other apparently suitable retreats were much closer. This suggests that the lizard had spatial awareness of its surroundings and periodically used that particular retreat. Juveniles were observed but hatchings and gravid females were not, indicating that this species breeds prior to July.

The abundance of Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. on the exterior of the Batu Caves massif and its rare occurrence in Dark Cave suggests it is not a cave-adapted species but will on occasion enter deeper regions. We have observed the same behavior in the limestone forest species C. astrum Grismer, Wood, Quah, Anuar, Muin, Sumontha, Norhayati, Bauer, Wangkulangkul , & Pauwels, C. langkawiensis Grismer, Wood, Quah, Anuar, Muin, Sumontha, Norhayati, Bauer, Wangkulangkul, & Pauwels, (Grismer et al. 2012) and C. guakanthanensis Grismer, Belabut, Quah, Chan, Wood , & Hasim ( Grismer et al. 2014). It is likely the cave ecosystems are too depauperate in prey resources and vegetation to support the density levels of these species observed outside the caves.

Etymology. The specific epithet metropolis is a noun in apposition and refers to the fact that this endemic species is found in a highly urbanized area near the heart of the largest metropolitan center of Peninsular Malaysia.

Comparisons. Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other members of the C. semenanjungensis complex by having four or five narrow, light-colored, dorsal bands as opposed to having 4–6 wide dorsal bands or being blotched. Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov is possibly further separated from all other species of the C. semenanjungensis complex by nine light-colored caudal bands on a regenerated tail as opposed to having 13–16. They can be additionally differentiated further by the having the unique combination of nine or 10 supralabials; seven or eight infralabials; 32–34 paravertebral tubercles; 37–44 ventral scales; no enlarged, median subcaudal scales; abrupt contact between the small and large postfemoral scales; 20 or 21 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; no deep, precloacal groove; no femoral pores; enlarged and continuous precloacal and femoral scales; and narrow, proximal light-colored caudal bands ( Table 5).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. Upper; holotype LSUHC 11347. Lower left; holotype LSUHC 11343. Lower right; paratype LSUHC 11342.

FIGURE 4. Distribution of the species of the Cyrtodactylus semenanjungensis complex.

FIGURE 5. Habitat structure near the type locality of Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov.

Tables

TABLE 6. Morphological characters and selected maesurements (in mm) of the type series of Cyrtodactylus metropolis sp. nov. / = data unavailable. Abbreviations are listed in the Materials and Methods.

Sex	LSUHC 11347 holotype F	LSUHC 11342 paratype M	LSUHC 11343 paratype M	LSUHC 11345 paratype M
Supralabials Infralabials Paravertebral tubercles	10 7 34	9 8 32	10 8 33	9 8 32
Ventral scales Postfemoral scale contact abrupt 4th toe lamellae	44 YES 21	37 YES 20	42 YES 20	42 YES 21
Precloacal pores present (1) or absent (0) Enlarged precloacal scales Femorocloacal scales	0 YES 37	0 YES 39	0 YES 36	0 YES 41
Light caudal bands narrow (1) or wide (0) Light bands on original tail Dorsal pattern stiped (S), composed of longitudinally arranged spots (LS), or banded (B) Body bands	0 / B 5	0 / B 4	0 / B 5	0 / B 5
Hatch./juv. with white tail tip SVL TL	/ 82.2 91.5	/ 60.6 59.5	/ 79.8 83.4	/ 78.2 97.9
TW FL TBL	7 12.9 14.7	5.6 10.1 11.2	7.3 13.0 15.5	7.1 13.2 15.4
AG HL HW	36.2 23.0 15.1	25.3 16.9 11.2	34.1 22.8 15.1	35.0 22.0 15.0
HD ED EE	9.5 5.5 6.5	6.8 3.8 4.8	9.6 5.5 6.2	9.5 5.2 6.3
ES EN IO	9.9 7.8 4.2	7.4 5.7 3.0	10.0 7.6 4.2	10.1 7.6 3.8
EL IN	1.7 2.5	1.4 2.0	1.7 2.5	2.3 2.4