Cyrtodactylus buchardi, David & Teynié, 2004

David, Patrick & Teynié, Alexandre, 2004, A New Species Of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) From Southern Laos, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52 (2), pp. 621-627 : 622-624

Cyrtodactylus buchardi , new species

( Figs. 1-4 )

Material examined. Ð Holotype - juvenile male ( MNHN 2003.3301 ), Northwest of Kiatngong , Xepian National Biodiversity and Conservation Area (Xepian NBCA), Champasak Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic ( Laos), coll. Thomas Calame, 30 Nov.2003.

Diagnosis. Ð A species of the genus Cyrtodactylus , characterized by: (1) a slender body; (2) thick digits, long, slender outer toes; (3) a faint, barely visible lateral fold; (4) a slender but short tail, shorter than body; (4) a low number (total 12) of subdigital lamellae beneath 4 th toe; (5) 25 rows of tuberculate dorsal scales; (6) no precloacal groove; (7) three series of enlarged precloacal scales, without visible pore (but maybe present in adults, see above); (8) no enlarged femoral scales; (9) no distinctly enlarged subcaudal scales; (10) a high number of SL (13-14); (10) dorsal pattern made of five transversal series of irregular blotches, not forming stripes but more or less arranged as three longitudinal series; (11) a contrasted nuchal collar, not reaching the posterior margin of the eyes. This new species is compared with other members of the genus Cyrtodactylus below in the “Discussion”.

Etymology. Ð This species is named in honour of Mr. Michel Buchard, General Manager of Etablissements E. Leclerc in Clermont-Ferrand ( France), who, through his generous patronage of natural history, made feasible the trips to Laos which allowed the collection of the type specimen, as well as numerous other missions.

Description of the holotype. Ð

Habitus. Ð Juvenile male; SVL: 33.35 mm; Trunk L: 14.30 mm; TaL: 30.85mm; TL: 64.20mm; HL: 9.75mm; HW:

Measures and ratios. CrusL: tibia length (from middle of knee to base of heel); EarL: longest dimension of ear); ForeAL: forearm length; HL:head length (from retroarticular process of jaw to snout tip); HW: head width (measured at the level of ears); SnED: snout to eye distance (distance between anterior margin of eye to snout tip); SVL:snout-vent length (from snout tip to vent); TaL:tail length; TL:total length; TrunkL: trunk length (distance measured between posterior edge of forelimb and anterior hedge of hindlimb).

Meristic characters: Cep: cephalic scales; DSR: dorsal scales (scales on dorsum between lateral folds); IL:infralabials; SL: supralabials; SpO: supraoculars; TSR: tuberculate dorsal scales; VEN: ventral scales (scales on belly between lateral folds).

6.75 mm. Body slender (ratio TrunkL/SVL 0.43). Head rather short (HL/SVL 0.29) and wide (HW/HL 0.69), clearly depressed between eyes, distinct from the neck, inflated in the lores region, canthus rostralis indistinct; snout rather elongate (SnED/HL 0.39), depressed in front of the eyes, blunt at its tip, longer than eye diameter (SnED/ED 1.54); eye moderate (ED/HL 0.26), with a vertical pupil; ear opening vertically elongated, average (EarL/HL 0.053). No precloacal groove. Tail (not regenerated; subsequently broken after preservation) slender but short (TaL/SVL 0.92).

Fore and hindlimbs short, thick, without webbing between digits and toes; forearm short (3.50 mm, ratio ForeAL/SVL 0.10); tibia short (3.75 mm; CrusL/SVL 0.11); digits rather thick, inflected at interphalangeal joints, all bearing a curved claw; subdigital lamellae of digits: proximal: large, broad, subrectangular or rounded, distal: subrectangular, narrow, no granule between proximal and distal lamellae; toes thick (I, II) or moderately slender (III-V); subdigital lamellae of toes: proximal: enlarged, rounded or subrectangular, distal rectangular, narrow, separated by 2 rounded scales at inflection point; lamellae of 4 th toe (proximal + inflection point + distal): 4 + 2 + 8; Formula of distal subdigital lamellae (from I to V): manus: 4-7-8-9-7; pes 4-6-8-8-8. Relative lengths of digits: manus: IV III> II> V> I, pes: IV III> II> V> I.

Scalation. Ð Dorsal scalation heterogeneous; dorsal scales rounded, conical or weakly tuberculate, more subrectangular on lower parts of sides, juxtaposed, interspersed with distinctly enlarged, conical tuberculate scales, rather low on the lower flanks then distinctly tuberculate but not keeled on the upper half of flanks and back, extending from posterior border of eye and neck on to back and anterior half of the tail; about 69 DSR between the lower rows of tuberculate scales; 25 rows of TSR at midbody, not regularly arranged. Scales on dorsal surfaces of limbs similar to dorsal scales, interspersed with enlarged tuberculate scales. Scales on palm and sole smooth, more or less rounded, juxtaposed, swollen but not keeled.

Tail covered with scales similar to dorsal surfaces, interspersed with tuberculate scales on its anterior half about; lower surface with 4-6 parallel series of regular, slightly enlarged, subrectangular scales (no series of distinctly enlarged scales).

Ventral scales distinctly larger than dorsals, flat, juxtaposed; 30 rows of VEN across the belly at midbody between the lateral folds, 38 scale rows between the lower rows of enlarged scales. A single series of 9 enlarged precloacal scales; scales immediately posterior to these scales enlarged, arranged in three series (from front to rear: 6 much enlarged scales / 5 scales / 1 scale) producing a triangle-like shape; no femoral pores (see above) nor enlarged femoral scales.

Rostral triangular, about 0.6 time high as wide, partly divided by a faint groove dorsally, in contact with 1 st SL, both supranasals and internasal; nostril heart-shaped, surrounded by rostral, supranasals, 1 st SL, nasal and postnasal; 2 enlarged rectangular supranasals, separated by a single pentagonal internasal; nasal bordered by 3 small postnasals; 13/14 SL, 8/8 SL to midorbital position, separated from orbit by 3 rows of small granular scales; cephalic scales small, rounded, conical, juxtaposed, with 38 Cep between middle of supraoculars and 32 Cep across narrowest distance between supraoculars; mental subtriangular, 1.4 times longer than wide; 1 pair of enlarged postmentals, followed on each side by a pair of enlarged postmentals not in contact each with the other; postmentals bordered by mental, 1 st IL, postmentals and, in the middle of the throat, by a group of scales larger than other gular scales; 11/10 infralabials, bordered by 2 rows of scales larger than throat granular scales; scales beneath throat minute, rounded.

Coloration. Ð In life and preservative, background color of head and body dark tan, the sides subfused with darker hues, with 15 irregular dark chocolate brown blotches, irregularly edged by small white scales, arranged in one or two rows on each side of the back; these blotches are disposed in six series as follows (from head to vent): 1 st transversal series of 3 large blotches (one on each side, each reaching the level of anterior edge of forelimb insertion plus one vertebral blotch), 2 nd series made of 2 blotches in contact on the vertebral line, 3 rd series made of 2 small blotches on left side, one elongated vertebral blotch and a single elongated blotch on right side, 4 th and 5 th series, including each of 3 small blotches obliquely aligned; and 6 th series reduced to a single blotch on the base of the tail; the white edge is more visible on anterior, larger blotches; back and sides heavily dotted with white small spots, mainly disposed on enlarged dorsal scales, more numerous on the lower parts of sides; a prominent dark chocolate brown nuchal blotch, more or less like an inverted V or looking like a bat, edged with a very narrow white line made of minute dots, not reaching the posterior margin of the orbit, but connected to the latter by a distinct although confluent, much fainter, elongated dark brown streak. Limbs like body, with white or pale grey spots on enlarged scales. Tail tan like body or slightly darker, with 8 dark brown rings, the first four broken and irregular beneath the tail, others behind more regular, with pale grey blotches irregularly spaced on tail sides between the rings.

Upper head surface dark tan as body, uniform except a darker area in the region above the eyes, slightly paler on the snout; neck sides dotted with bright, small white spots; supralabials greyish-tan, strongly speckled with dark brown dots, with on each scale 1 or 2 small irregular cream spots, either in the middle or on top and bottom of the scale; infralabials strongly speckled with dark brown dots, except a small area devoid of dots and producing a larger, irregular white spot.

Venter and throat uniformly ivory cream, heavily dotted with both rounded (“normal”) or star-like black dots; these dots are usually arranged as 2 or 3 normal dots or 1 star-like, or a combination of 1 to 3 dots per scale. Beneath the throat, scales bear usually 1 or 2 dots.

Distribution and biology. Ð Cyrtodactylus buchardi is currently known only from its type locality, the Xepian National Biodiversity and Conservation Area, in southern Laos. The holotype was collected at daytime under a stone on the ground of a lowland monsoon evergreen forest, at an elevation between 90 and 300 m.

Figures

Fig. 1. Cyrtodactylus buchardi, new species. Holotype (MNHN2003.3301). Lateral view of the head (left side).