Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis, Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Anuar, Shahrul, Grismer, Marta S., Quah, Evan S. H., Murdoch, Matthew L., Muin, Mohd Abdul, Davis, Hayden R., Aguilar, César, Klabacka, Randy, Cobos, Anthony J., Aowphol, Anchalee & Sites, Jack W., 2016

Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Anuar, Shahrul, Grismer, Marta S., Quah, Evan S. H., Murdoch, Matthew L., Muin, Mohd Abdul, Davis, Hayden R., Aguilar, César, Klabacka, Randy, Cobos, Anthony J., Aowphol, Anchalee & Sites, Jack W., 2016, Two new Bent-toed Geckos of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex from Peninsular Malaysia and multiple instances of convergent adaptation to limestone forest ecosystems, Zootaxa 4105 (5), pp. 401-429 : 421-423

Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov.

English: Lenggong Bent-toed Gecko Malay: Cicak Jari-bengkok Lenggong Fig. 6

Cyrtodactylus bintangrendah Grismer et al. 2012:32, 2014a:360 .

Holotype. Adult male, LSUHC 9974 collected on 29 October 2011 by E.S.H. Quah, Fatim, S.B.M., and Nor Amira, B.A.R from Lenggong Valley, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia (5°06.431” N 100°58.322” E; at 104 m elevation).

Paratypes. Paratypes, LSUHC 9975–77 bear the same collection data as the holotype. These were all once type material of Cyrtodactylus bintangrendah but are now excluded from that species.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Cyrtodactylus by having a maximum SVL of 103.1 mm; 10 or 11 supralabials; 8–10 infralabials; prominent tuberculation on body; no tubercles on ventral surface of forelimbs, gular region, or in ventrolateral body folds; tubercles on anterior one-third of tail; 36–41 paravertebral tubercles; 22–25 longitudinal tubercle rows; 32 or 33 ventral scales; 20–23 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; no femoral pores; 39–41 femoroprecloacal scales; deep precloacal groove; four or five dark dorsal body bands; body band width less than to slightly more than interspace width; body bands and nuchal loop edged with a thin yellowish, tubercle-bearing lines; no scattered white tubercles on dorsum; 14 dark caudal bands on original tail; and light-colored caudal bands immaculate. These characters are scored across all species of the C. pulchellus complex in Table 5.

Description of holotype. Adult male, SVL 100.0 mm; head large, moderate in length (HL/SVL 0.29), wide (HW/HL 0.70), somewhat flattened (HD/HL 0.38), distinct from neck, triangular in dorsal profile; lores concave anteriorly, inflated posteriorly; frontal and prefrontal regions deeply concave; canthus rostralis rounded anteriorly; snout elongate (ES/HL 0.45), rounded in dorsal profile, laterally constricted; eye large (ED/HL 0.24); ear opening elliptical, moderate in size (EL/HL 0.10), obliquely oriented; eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye; rostral rectangular, divided dorsally by an inverted Y-shaped furrow, bordered posteriorly by left and right supranasals, and one medial postrostrals (=internasals), bordered laterally by first supralabials; external nares bordered anteriorly by rostral, dorsally by large supranasal and smaller, posteriorly by two postnasals, ventrally by first supralabial; 10 (R, L) rectangular supralabials extending to just beyond upturn of labial margin, tapering abruptly below midpoint of eye; first supralabial largest; 10 (R, L) infralabials tapering in size posteriorly; scales of rostrum and lores weakly raised, larger than granular scales on top of head and occiput, those on posterior portion of canthus rostralis slightly larger; scales of occiput intermixed with small tubercles; posterior interorbital region tuberculate; large; boney frontal ridges bordering orbit confluent with boney, transverse, parietal ridge; dorsal superciliaries elongate, smooth, largest anteriorly; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabials and posteriorly by left and right, rectangular postmentals which contact medially for 40% of their length; single row of slightly enlarged, elongate chinshields extending posteriorly to fifth infralabial; small, granular to flat gular scales grading posteriorly into larger, flat, smooth, imbricate, pectoral and ventral scales.

Body relatively short (AG/SVL 0.45) with well-defined, non-tuberculate, ventrolateral folds; dorsal scales small, granular, interspersed with prominent, regularly arranged, keeled tubercles, smaller intervening tubercles rarely present; tubercles extend from top of head to caudal constriction and onto anterior one-third of tail; tubercles on occiput and nape small, those on body largest; approximately 23 longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody; 36 paravertebral tubercles; 33 flat imbricate ventral scales between ventrolateral body folds, ventral scales larger than dorsal scales; precloacal scales large, smooth; deep precloacal groove.

Forelimbs moderate in stature, relatively short (FL/SVL 0.16); scales on dorsal surfaces of forelimbs, small, juxtaposed, intermixed with large low, rounded, widely separated tubercles; scales of ventral surface of forearm flat, subimbricate, tubercles absent; palmar scales weakly rounded to flat; digits well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae rectangular proximal to joint inflection, only slightly expanded distal to inflection; digits more narrow distal to joints; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; hind limbs more robust than forelimbs, moderate in length (TBL/SVL 0.19), large, low, rounded tubercles on dorsal surface of legs separated by smaller subimbricate scales; ventral scales of thigh flat, smooth, imbricate, larger than dorsal granular scales; ventral, tibial scales flat, smooth, imbricate; single row of 41 greatly enlarged, flat, rectangular, imbricate, femoroprecloacal scales extend nearly from knee to knee through precloacal region where they are continuous with enlarged, pore-bearing precloacal scales forming an inverted T bearing a deep, precloacal groove in which eight pore-bearing scales are found (four on left, four on right); postfemoral scales immediately posterior to enlarged scale row small, nearly granular, forming an abrupt union with postfemoral scales on posteroventral margin of thigh; plantar scales low, flat, slightly raised; digits welldeveloped, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae proximal to joint inflection rectangular, only slightly expanded distal to inflection; digits more narrow distal to joints; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; 21(R, L) subdigital lamellae on 4th toe.

Tail, 97.0 mm in length, original portion 7 mm, regenerated portion 90.0 mm, width at base 8.4 mm, tapering to a point; dorsal scales of tail flat, squarish; subcaudal region bearing large median row of large, transverse scales; no caudal furrows; base of tail bearing hemipenial swellings; three small, postcloacal tubercles on each hemipenial swelling; postcloacal scales smooth, flat, large, imbricate.

Coloration in life ( Fig. 6 ). Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs, and tail tan, immaculate; no V-shaped line on rostrum; wide, dark-brown nuchal loop edged anteriorly and posteriorly by thin, yellowish lines bearing tubercles; five, narrow, dark-brown body bands between nuchal loop and hind limb insertions edged anteriorly and posteriorly by rows of yellowish tubercles; body band width less than interspace width; no markings on posterior margin of thigh; ventral surface of head, body, and limbs beige, immaculate except for black stipples in each scale; and anterior portion of original tail banded, posterior regenerated portion unicolor dark-brown.

Variation ( Fig. 6 ). The paratypes resemble the holotype in general aspects of coloration and pattern except that LSUHC 9975 and 9977 have four instead of five dorsal bands that are as wide as the interspace width versus less than the interspace width. LSUHC 9975 also has a complete tail bearing 14 dark bands separated by 14, narrower, beige (anteriorly) to white (posteriorly) bands that encircle tail. The subadult LSUHC 9977 is more boldly marked and the anterior 50% of the tail is original and bears black and white bands. Meristic differences are listed in Table 7 .

Distribution. Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov. is known only from the type locality at Lenggong Valley, Ulu Perak, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia ( Fig. 1 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet lenggongensis refers to the Lenggong Valley, Perak where this species is endemic.

Natural History. Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov. is saxicolous and found on limestone karst outcrops and in the vicinity of the mouths of limestone caves ( Fig. 7 ). During the day, geckos are occasionally observed hiding in cracks and crevices of the outcrops. At night, lizards emerge and can be found perching or crawling over the walls of the karst formation 1–3 m above the ground. No lizards were found on the surrounding vegetation.

Comparisons. Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov. is differentiated from all other species of the C. pulchellus complex by having a combination of low, rounded tubercles on body; no tubercles on ventral surfaces of forelimbs, gular region or in the ventrolateral body folds; 36–41 paravertebral tubercles; 32 or 33 ventral scales; 39–41 femoroprecloacal pores; a deep precloacal groove; four or five body bands that are less than to slightly wider than the width of the interspace; body bands and nuchal loop edged with yellowish tubercles; and no scattered white tubercles on dorsum ( Table 5). Within the C. pulchellus complex, C. lenggongensis sp. nov. is the sister species of C. bintangrendah sensu stricto to which it was once considered conspecific (Grismer et al. 2012, 2014a). However it differs from C. bintangrendah sensu stricto in having weaker body tuberculation; no tubercles in the ventrolateral folds; tubercles on forelimbs and legs are low, rounded and widely separated versus being large and in near contact; fewer femoroprecloacal scales (39–41 versus 41–46); 14 versus eight or nine dark caudal bands on the original tail, caudal bands encircling tail forming rings; and a smaller maximum SVL (103.1 versus 114.4).

Remarks. Unlike Cyrtodactylus hidupselamanya sp. nov., C. lenggongensis sp. nov. is not destined to become extinct by the quarrying interests of foreign industrial companies but rather it is protected through the UNESCO Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley due to the area’s archaeological significance. It is sad that ancient living relicts of the past (i.e. species) that did not happen to go extinct do not garner as much importance or appreciation as archeological relicts that did.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution of the species of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex from the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Enclosed stars represent type localities of the newly described species.

FIGURE 6. Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov. from Lenggong Valley, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. Upper left: male holotype LSUHC 9974. Upper right: juvenile male paratype LSUHC 9976. Lower: type series from left to right; male holotype LSUHC 9974, female paratype LUSHC 9975, male paratype LSUHC 9976, and juvenile female paratype LSUHC 9977.

FIGURE 7. Limestone forest at the type locality of Cyrtodactylus lenggongensis sp. nov. from Lenggong Valley, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia.