Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis, Tri, Ngo Van & Pauwels, Olivier S. G., 2010

Tri, Ngo Van & Pauwels, Olivier S. G., 2010, A new cave-dwelling species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Khammouane Province, southern Laos, Zootaxa 2730, pp. 44-56 : 45-51

Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov.

Plates 1–2

Holotype. UNS 0 534, adult male collected by Ngo Van Tri on 30 April 2010 at the entrance of Lomyen Cave on a karst hill in Gnommalath District, Khammouane Province, southern Laos (17º35.072’N, 105º13.022’E) at 150–200 m elevation.

Paratypes. UNS 0 527, subadult female, was collected by Ngo Van Tri between 19h00 and 20h00 on 26 April 2010 at the entrance of Lomyen Cave. Paratypes UNS 0 532, adult female, and UNS 0 533, adult male, were collected from the same locality as the holotype around 20h00 on 28 April 2010.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. differs from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: maximum SVL of at least 71.2 mm; original tail long (TailL/SVL: 121%); head dorsum yellowish with irregular brown blotches; brown nuchal loop reaching the posterior edge of the orbit; dorsal pattern consisting of four narrow yellowish-cream transversal bands with irregular anterior and posterior black edges on a brown background between limb insertions; 0–1 intersupranasals; 3–4 enlarged lateral chinshields in contact with first postmental; 17–18 interorbital scales on the frontal bone; 19–22 scales in a straight line between eye and nostril; 20–24 irregular, longitudinal rows of weakly-keeled, conical tubercles at midbody between the lateral folds; 33–35 paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions; 35–36 rows of ventral scales between weakly-developed ventrolateral folds; 39–40 precloacal-femoral pores in males; 32 smaller precloacal-femoral pores in female; 5 postanal tubercles on each side; 16–18 subdigital lamellae on first toe; 19–23 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; 12–13 rings on original tail; median row of enlarged subcaudal scales (see Tables 1–2 ).

Description of holotype. Adult male, SVL 71.2 mm (Plate 1A). Head moderately long (HeadL/SVL: 28%), relatively narrow (HeadW/HeadL: 65%), depressed (HeadH/HeadL: 35%), distinct from neck; lores and interorbital region inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent, frontonasal region concave; snout elongate (SnEye/HeadL: 39%), pointed, longer than eye diameter (OrbD/SnEye: 68%); scales on snout small, rounded, granular, homogeneous, larger than those on occipital region. Eye large (OrbD/HeadL: 27%), pupils dark blue with yellow crenulated margins; supraciliaries short, bearing tiny conical spines posteriorly. Ear opening oval, oblique, relatively large (EarL/HeadL: 12%); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye (EyeEar/OrbD: 111%). Rostral scale smooth, incompletely divided posteriorly by shallow inverted Y-shaped dorsal groove; two enlarged supranasals in broad contact, followed posteriorly by six smaller scales (Plate 2A); rostral in contact with first supralabial and nostril; nostril oval, surrounded by supranasal, rostral, first supralabial, and two enlarged postnasals; 2–3 rows of small scales separate orbit from supralabials. Mental triangular, wider (2.6 mm) than deep (1.9 mm); one pair of enlarged postmentals, in broad contact medially, bordered anteromedially by mental, bordered anterolaterally by first and second infralabials, posterolaterally by three enlarged lateral chinshields (Plate 2B). Ten supralabials on both sides to midorbital position; 14 supralabials to the eye angle in both sides; 18 interorbital scale rows on the frontal bone; 22 scales between eye and nostril.

Body slender, elongate (TrunkL/SVL: 40%). Dorsal scales conical; regularly distributed weakly keeled tubercles (3–5 times size of adjacent scales) extend from occipital region to base of tail; tubercles arranged in 20 rows at midbody between weakly developed ventrolateral folds (Plate 2C); tubercles are smallest on flanks and occipital region; 33 paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions. Ventral scales larger than dorsals, smooth, relatively round, subimbricate, largest posteriorly; 35 scale rows across belly between ventrolateral folds (Plate 2D); gular region with relatively homogeneous, smooth scales. Precloacal groove absent; precloacal scales enlarged; twelve precloacal pores arranged in a chevron connected with 14 femoral pores in 18 enlarged, femoral scales beneath thigh (Plate 2E). Scales on palm and hind limbs smooth, granular, hind limbs scattered, weakly keeled tubercles which are smaller than those on dorsum, relatively enlarged scales on each heel.

Fore and hindlimbs moderately slender (ForeL/SVL: 15%; CrusL/SVL: 18%); digits moderately slender, strongly inflected at basal interphalangeal joints, all bearing slightly curved claws; basal subdigital lamellae nearly as broad as digit, without scansorial surface: 8–8–9–7–7 (manus); 7–7–9–10 –10 (pes); narrow lamellae distal to digital inflection and not including ventral claw sheath: 10–11–11–12–10 (manus), 11–11–12–13–13 (pes); one or two rows of small, non lamellar granules between basal and distal lamellar series; interdigital webbing present but weakly developed. Relative length of digits in mm: IV (6.4)> III (6.3)> V (5.9)> II (5.2)> I (4.7) (manus); V (7.5)> IV (L) (7.2)> III (6.1)> II (5.6)> I (4.1) (pes).

Tail regenerated; tail length 86.1 mm, slender, tapering to a point; longer than snout-vent-length (TailL/SVL: 121%); five smooth, whitish postanal tubercles at base; base of tail with six parasagittal and four longitudinal rows of keeled, paravertebral tubercles on each side of the midline; no tubercles present on tail dorsum; ventral scales smooth, juxtaposed; median row of enlarged subcaudal scales throughout the length of tail.

Coloration in life (Plate 1A). Yellowish head dorsum with small irregular brown blotches; eye rings yellowish; brown nuchal loop reaching the posterior edge of the orbit; dorsum background color brown; four yellowishcream transversal bands on dorsum with irregular dark edges (anterior edges darker than posterior ones) between limb insertions; one similar band immediately posterior to hind limbs, followed by the regenerated tail portion, which is brown, scattered with small darker spots; dorsal side of limbs light brown, with scattered light blotches; ventral side of body whitish.

Variation. Color variations of Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis are shown in Plate 1B – 1C. Dorsum coloration of paratypes similar to holotype (dark edges of dorsal light bands less irregular in the subadult UNS 0527). Original tail with ca. twelve dark brown and white rings alternating, yellowish in proximal half, whitish in distal half of the tail, in adults and subadults. Tail white in hatchlings (based on the observation in situ of a hatchling-size individual that could not be caught). Voucher specimens are lighter in preservation. Meristical and morphometrical variation among types are presented in Table 1 .

PLATE 1A: Adult male holotype of Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis (UNS 0534); 1B: Adult female paratype (UNS 0532); 1C: Subadult female paratype (UNS 0527).

PLATE 2. Holotype of Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. showing: A: Rostral scale; B: Mental scales; C: Tubercle rows on the dorsum; D: Ventral scale rows; E: Precloacal-femoral pores connected beneath the right thigh, pores marked with blue dot.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the name of Lomyen Cave. Suggested common names: Lomyen Bent-toed Gecko (English) ; Thằn lằn chân ngón Lomyen (Vietnamese); Khi Kiem Tham Lomyen (Lao); Cyrtodactyle de Lomyen (French); Tuk kai Tham Lomyen ( Thai).

Distribution and natural history. Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis is currently known only from its type locality in southern Laos ( Fig. 1 ). Lomyen Cave is situated on a forested karst hill ( Fig. 2 ). All specimens were observed and collected at night at the cave entrance. A hatchling was observed in a karst crevice at dawn but eluded capture. This species is probably not a true cave obligate, but rather a troglophile, using this environment as a convenient foraging and shelter area. One large Pitviper– Protobothrops mucrosquamatus (Cantor) (Viperidae) was observed and photographed near Lomyen Cave entrance. The call of Gekko gecko (Linnaeus) (Gekkonidae) was heard in the dry forest around the karst hill.

Materials and Methods. Measurements are in mm; F = female; M = male; Reg = regenerated tail.

continued next page Comparison with other species. Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis differs from other Lao endemic Cyrtodactylus , C. buchardi David et al. 2004 by its brown nuchal loop reaching the posterior edge of the orbit (vs. not reaching in C. buchardi ), its banded dorsal pattern (vs. blotched), enlarged femoral scales (vs. not enlarged), and enlarged subcaudal scales (versus not distinctly enlarged).

Based on the intrageneric comparison tables provided by Linkem et al. (2008), Ngo & Chan (2010), Rösler & Glaw (2008), Sumontha et al. (2010), Welton et al. (2009) and Ziegler et al. (2010), and on the morphological data provided by all other references cited in the literature section, Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. differs, by possessing a continuous row of precloacal-femoral pores, from all Cyrtodactylus species, except C. batucolus Grismer et al. , C. chanhomeae Bauer et al. , C. consobrinoides Annandale , C. deveti (Brongersma) , C. epiroticus Kraus , C. feae (Boulenger) , C. fumosus (Müller) , C. jarujini Ulber , C. klugei Kraus , C. loriae (Boulenger) , C. macrotuberculatus Grismer & Ahmad , C. marmoratus Gray , C. novaeguineae (Schlegel) , C. phongnhakebangensis Ziegler et al. , C. robustus Kraus, 2008 , C. roesleri Ziegler et al. , C. seribuatensis Youmans & Grismer , C. serratus Kraus, C. tamaiensis (Smith) , C. tiomanensis Das & Lim , C. tripartitus Kraus , C. variegatus (Blyth) and C. zugi Oliver et al.

Male Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. have a lower number of precloacal–femoral pores (39–40) than male C. batucolus (43–46), C. epiroticus (60–82), C. fumosus (42–52), C. klugei (66–76), C. marmoratus (45–50), C. robustus (75–85), C. serratus (87), and C. tripartitus (64–78). Males of the New Guinea species Cyrtodactylus loriae show 30 – 81 precloacal-femoral pores, but are distinguishable by their blotched dorsal pattern.

Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. shows a similar number of precloacal-femoral pores as C. tamaiensis (Smith) (39–40 vs. 40), but it differs from this taxon by its smaller size (57.7–71.2 mm vs. 90 mm), its nuchal loop (present vs. absent), dorsal body pattern (four narrow bands vs. contrasting dense pale and dark brown marbling), more post cloacal tubercles (5 vs. 3–4), and its enlarged subcaudal scales (present vs. absent).

Males of the Malaysian species C. seribuatensis show an overlap with 40–44 precloacal-femoral pores, but are readily distinguished from the new species by their blotched dorsal pattern. From the Indonesian C. fumosus and C. marmoratus and the Malaysian C. batucolus , which show only slightly higher numbers of precloacal-femoral pores, C. lomyenensis sp. nov. is moreover readily distinguished by the presence of enlarged median subcaudals. Male Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. show a higher number of precloacal-femoral pores (39–40) than male C.

consobrinoides (26), C. deveti (18–23), C. feae (32), C. macrotuberculatus (35–37), C. tiomanensis (19), C. variegatus (32) and C. zugi (>21). The Malaysian Cyrtodactylus macrotuberculatus , which shows a number of precloacal-femoral pores close to that of C. lomyenensis sp. nov., is otherwise very distinct morphologically, for example, in its possession of a precloacal groove. Males of the New Guinea species C. novaeguineae show an overlap with 24–43 precloacal-femoral pores, but, this species lacks enlarged median subcaudals.

Specific comparisons with the Indochinese– Thai Cyrtodactylus with a continuous row of precloacal-femoral pores are presented in Table 2. While Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. is different in many respects from the blotched C. jarujini , it shows the strongest morphological similarities with the Thai C. chanhomeae and the Vietnamese C. phongnhakebangensis and C. roesleri . From C. roesleri , it is distinguished by a higher number of precloacal-femoral pores (39–40 vs. 20–28) and of tubercle rows (20–24 vs. 13) and by its dorsal color. From C. phongnhakebangensis , it differs by its dorsal pattern and color, including in possessing 4 vs. 2–3 light bands between limb insertions, and by its smaller size. From C. chanhomeae , which seems to share the strongest similarities, it differs by a higher number of precloacal-femoral pores in males (39–40 vs. 32–34), a higher number of light dorsal bands between limb insertion (4 vs. 3); moreover, in C. chanhomeae , the light band above shoulders contacts the brown nuchal loop, whereas it is separated in C. lomyenensis sp. nov.

Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. differs from the recently described species Cyrtodactylus mandalayensis Mahony , C. nuaulu Oliver et al. , C. yangbangensis Ngo & Chan , C. phuquocensis Ngo et al. , C. zhaoermii Lei & Hui , C. jambangan Welton et al. , and C. wayakonei Nguyen et al. in possessing femoral pores in males.

series of precloacal-femoral pores (data from Bauer et al. 2003; David et al. 2004; Rösler & Glaw 2008; Sumontha et al. 2008; Ulber 1993; Ziegler et al. 2002, 2010; and our observations on the type series of C. lomyenensis sp. nov.).

nov

sp

. lomyenensis . chanhomeae jarujini phongnhakebangensis roesleri

.....

C C C C C N 4 2 3 8 19 Maximal SVL 71.2 78.8 90 96.3 75.3 Maximal TailL 86.1 74.7 116.0 110.0 101.0 VenS 35 – 36 36 – 38 32 – 38 32 – 42 34 – 40 TubR 20 – 24 16 – 18 18 – 20 11 – 20 13 (n=1)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Type locality of Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. in Gnommalath District, Khammouane Province, Southern Laos.

FIGURE 2. Macrohabitat of Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. in karst forest, Gnommalath District, Khammouane Province, Southern Laos.

Tables

TABLE 1. Mensural and meristic data for the type series of Cyrtodactylus lomyenensis sp. nov. Abbreviations are stated in the

Sex	Holotype UNS 0 534 M	Paratype UNS 0 533 M	Paratype UNS 0 532 F	Paratype UNS 0 527 F (subadult)	min-max x S.D. ± 2 M, 2 F
SVL	71.2	69.1	68.2	57.7	57.7 – 71.2 66.6 ± 6.0
HeadL	19.9	18.3	18.0	16.1	16.1 – 19.9 18.1 ± 1.6
HeadW	13.0	12.1	11.4	10.6	10.6 – 13.0 11.8 ± 1.0
HeadH	6.9	5.9	5.6	5.4	5.4 – 6.9 6.0 ± 0.7
SnEye	7.8	7.7	7.4	6.2	6.2 – 7.8 7.3 ± 0.8
NarEye	6.1	5.8	5.7	4.9	4.9 – 6.1 5.6 ± 0.5
OrbD	5.3	5.2	5.3	4.6	4.6 – 5.3 5.1 ± 0.3
EyeEar	5.9	4.7	5.3	4.5	4.5 – 5.9 5.1 ± 0.6
EarL	2.4	2.3	2.2	1.7	1.7 – 2.4 2.2 ± 0.3
InterNar	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.4	1.4 – 1.8 1.7 ± 0.2
InterOrb	6.5	5.6	5.9	5.1	5.1 – 6.5 5.8 ± 0.9
TrunkL	28.5	28.4	20.7	22.1	20.7 – 28.5 24.9 ± 4.1
ForeaL	10.7	10.2	10.1	8.9	8.9 – 10.7 10.0 ± 0.8
CrusL	12.9	12.7	12.6	11.0	11.0 – 12.9 12.3 ± 1.1
TailL	86.1 (Reg)	82.9 (Reg)	72.2	73.9	72.2 – 86.1 78.8 ± 6.8
TailW	5.3	5.0	4.6	4.0	4.0 – 5.3 4.7 ± 0.6
SupL	13	13	14	14	13 – 14
Infra	11	11	11	11	11