Cnemaspis flavolineata ( Nicholls, 1949 )

Grismer, Lee, Wood, Perry L., Anuar, Shahrul, Riyanto, Awal, Ahmad, Norhayati, Muin, Mohd A., Sumontha, Montri, Grismer, Jesse L., Onn, Chan Kin, Quah, Evan S. H. & Pauwels, Olivier S. A., 2014, Systematics and natural history of Southeast Asian Rock Geckos (genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) with descriptions of eight new species from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, Zootaxa 3880 (1), pp. 1-147 : 80-81

Cnemaspis flavolineata ( Nicholls, 1949)

Fraser’s Hill Rock Gecko

Fig. 43

Gonatodes kendallii Smith 1922:268

Gonatodes affinis Smith 1925:23 ; 1930:16

Gonatodes flavolineatus Nicholls 1949:47

Cnemaspis flavolineatus Manthey & Grossmann 1997:211 ; Leong & Lim, 2003:9

Holotype. ZRC 2.6777 . Type locality: “the Gap below Fraser’s Hill, on the Pahang-Selangor boundary”, Peninsular Malaysia at approximately 800 m in elevation.

Diagnosis. Maximum SVL 39.2 mm; nine supralabials; nine infralabials; ventral scales keeled; five or six contiguous, pore-bearing precloacal scales with round pores; 23 paravertebral tubercles; body tubercles linearly arranged, absent on flanks; tubercles present in lateral caudal furrows; no ventrolateral caudal tubercles; lateral caudal row present anteriorly; caudal tubercles encircle tail anteriorly; subcaudals keeled, no enlarged median scale row; two postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base; no enlarged femoral or subtibial scales; subtibials keeled; no enlarged submetatarsal scales; and 23 subdigital fourth toe lamellae; large, black, round spots on nape and anterior portion of body; light vertebral stripe variably present (Tables 6,7).

Redescription of species. The redescription of this species is based on a specimen ( LSUHC 8079 ) collected from the Gap below Fraser’s Hill , Pahang and the holotype ( ZRC 2.6777 ). Maximum SVL 38.6–39.2 mm; head oblong in dorsal profile, moderate in size, somewhat narrow, flattened, distinct from neck; snout short, flat in lateral profile; postnasal region constricted medially, flat; scales of rostrum keeled, raised, larger than similarly shaped scales on occiput; weak, supraorbital ridges and frontorostral sulcus; canthus rostralis smoothly rounded; eye large; extra-brillar fringe scales largest anteriorly; pupil round; ear opening oval, taller than wide; rostral slightly concave, divided dorsally by longitudinal groove; rostral bordered posteriorly by supranasals and two smaller scales and laterally by first supralabials; 9 R,L raised supralabials of similar size; 9 R,L infralabials, decreasing in size slightly posteriorly; nostrils elliptical, oriented posterolaterally, bordered posteriorly by small, granular, postnasal scales; mental large, triangular, bordered posteriorly by three postmentals, outer two largest; gular scales raised, keeled; throat scales larger, raised, keeled .

Body slender; small, keeled, dorsal scales equal in size throughout body, intermixed with much larger, multicarinate tubercles more or less linearly arranged; tubercles extend from occiput to base of tail; no tubercles on flanks; 23 paravertebral tubercles; pectoral scales raised, keeled, not elongate; abdominal scales slightly larger than dorsals, flat, keeled; five or six precloacal pores; forelimbs moderately long, slender; dorsal scales of brachium raised, keeled; dorsal scales of forearm keeled, raised; ventral scales of brachium keeled, raised, juxtaposed; ventral scales of forearm smooth, raised, juxtaposed; palmar scales smooth, juxtaposed, raised; digits long with an inflected joint; claws recurved; subdigital lamellae unnotched; lamellae beneath first phalanges wide; lamellae beneath phalanx immediately following inflection granular, lamellae of distal phalanges wide; interdigital webbing absent; fingers increase in length from first to fourth with fourth and fifth nearly equal in length; hind limbs slightly longer and thicker than forelimbs; dorsal scales of thigh keeled, raised, juxtaposed; scales of anterior margin of thigh keeled; ventral scales of thigh keeled; subtibial scales keeled, flat, imbricate, with no enlarged anterior row; plantar scales smooth, juxtaposed, raised; no enlarged submetatarsal scales beneath first metatarsal; digits elongate with an inflected joint; claws recurved; subdigital lamellae unnotched; lamellae beneath first phalanges wide; lamellae beneath phalanx immediately following inflection granular, lamellae of distal phalanges wide; interdigital webbing absent; toes increase in length from first to fourth with fourth being slightly longer than fifth; 23 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; caudal scales arranged in segmented whorls; dorsal caudal scales raised anteriorly, weakly keeled, juxtaposed; middorsal and lateral caudal furrows; no row of enlarged, median subcaudal scales; subcaudal scales keeled; caudal tubercles encircle tail anteriorly; caudal tubercles present in lateral furrow; two enlarged postcloacal tubercles on lateral surface of hemipenal swellings at base of tail.

Color pattern in life based on LSUHC 8079 ( Fig. 43 ). Dorsal ground color brown to olive-brown; small, dark and light markings on top of head; faint, dark lines radiate out from eyes; elongate, paired, dark, paravertebral markings edging a wide, cream-colored vertebral stripe extending from nape to base of tail; flanks slightly lighter in color; large, white, dorsal tubercles in vertebral region extending from nape onto the tail; limbs mottled with dark and light, irregularly shaped blotches; no black shoulder patches or postscapular band; faint, dark and light brownish bands encircle tail; ventral surfaces of head, body, and limbs dull beige, immaculate; subcaudal region darker.

Distribution. Cnemaspis flavolineata is known only from the type of the Gap below Fraser’s Hill, Pahang ( Nicholls 1949; Fig. 3 ).

Natural history. This species is known from only two specimens. No collection data were provided with the holotype but LSUHC 8079 was taken on 26 August 2006 at night while sleeping on the underside of a horizontal branch at the edge of a slow moving, marshy stream edged by large granite boulders in hill dipterocarp forest at 900 m in elevation ( Fig. 43 ) .

Remarks. Although Cnemaspis flavolineata and C. temiah sp. nov. are very similar in morphology and color pattern, the molecular analysis indicates that they are not the same species or each others closest relatives ( Fig. 2 ). Cnemaspis flavolineata can be separated from C. temiah sp. nov. by having a distinct series of large, white, transversely arranged, vertebral tubercles extending from the nape onto the tail which do not occur in C. temiah sp. nov. Additionally, the anteriormost caudal tubercles in C. flavolineata encircle the tail whereas no caudal tubercles encircle the tail in C. temiah sp. nov.

Material examined. Malaysia: Pahang; the Gap below Fraser’s Hill ZRC 2.6777 (holotype) and LSUHC 8079 .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Maximum-likelihood phylogram (–InL 73957.608688) of the species of the genus Cnemaspis with Bayesian posterior probabilities (BPP) and maximum-likelihood (ML) bootstrap values, respectively based on the concatenated 3 gene dataset. Black circles are nodes supported by BBP and ML values greater than 0.95 and 70, respectively. Gray circles are nodes supported only by ML values greater than 70. White circles are nodes supported only by BPP values greater than 0.95. The distribution maps on the right delimit the ranges of the four major clades.

FIGURE 3. Distribution of the species and species groups in the Ca Mau and Northern Sunda clades. Stars indicate type localities.

FIGURE 43. Upper: adult male Cnemaspis flavolineata (LSUHC 8079) from the Gap at Fraser’s Hill, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. Lower: microhabitat at Fraser’s Hill. Photographs by LLG.