Cyrtodactylus samroiyot, Pauwels, Olivier S. G. & Sumontha, Montri, 2014

Pauwels, Olivier S. G. & Sumontha, Montri, 2014, Cyrtodactylus samroiyot, a new limestone-dwelling Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, peninsular Thailand, Zootaxa 3755 (6), pp. 573-583 : 574-581

Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov.

( Figs 1–7 )

Holotype. THNHM 22549; adult male from Ban Bang Pu (12°12’00’’ N, 100°00’00’’ E), Amphoe (= District) Sam Roi Yot (= Sam Roi Yod), Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, peninsular Thailand; collected by T. Kaewmanee on 8 July 2013.

Paratypes. CUMZ-R-0.2320 (field number MS 556), adult male, collected by Thanin Kaewmanee on 19 June 2013 at same locality as holotype. QSMI 1167 (MS 555), adult female, same locality, collecting date and collector as holotype.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other congeners by its maximal known SVL of 66.9 mm; 17–18 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 33–34 longitudinal rows of ventrals across the abdomen between the ventrolateral skin folds; a continuous series of seven precloacal pore-bearing scales in males (six shallow precloacal pits in female); a series of slightly enlarged, poreless and pitless femoral scales; no precloacal groove nor depression; median row of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; complete nuchal loop; dorsal pattern consisting of three long dark brown bands, one above shoulders and two above abdomen.

Description of holotype. Adult male. SVL 65.0 mm. TailL 78.8 mm (only 7.0 first mm original). Head long (HeadL/SVL ratio 0.32), moderately narrow (HeadW/HeadL ratio 0.60), not markedly depressed (HeadH/HeadL ratio 0.38), distinct from neck. Loreal region weakly inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout moderate in length (SnOrb/HeadL ratio 0.37), rounded, longer than orbit diameter (OrbD/SnOrb ratio 0.68); scales on snout small, rounded, granular to weakly conical, mostly homogeneous, larger than those on crown, interorbital and occipital regions. Eye moderately large (OrbD/HeadL ratio 0.25); pupil vertical; supraciliaries short. Ear opening oblique, elliptical, moderate (EarL/HeadL ratio 0.06); eye to ear distance equal to orbit diameter (5.2 mm). Rostral wider (3.1 mm) than deep (1.9 mm); rostral crease half of rostral height. Two enlarged supranasals in medial point contact. Rostral contacting first supralabials, nostrils, and supranasals. Nostrils oval, more-or-less laterally directed, each surrounded by supranasal, rostral, first supralabial and two enlarged postnasals. Two or three rows of small scales separate orbit from supralabials. Mental triangular, wider (2.7 mm) than deep (2.1 mm). A single pair of greatly enlarged postmentals in broad contact behind mental, each postmental bordered anteromedially by mental, anterolaterally by first infralabial, posterolaterally by an enlarged lateral chinshield, and posteriorly by three granules, of which the medial scale contacts both postmentals. Supralabials to midorbital position 11/10, enlarged supralabials to angle of jaws 14/13. Infralabials 10/10. Interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal bone 28. Gular scales homogeneous, smooth, juxtaposed, granular.

Body elongate (AG/SVL ratio 0.46) with poorly defined, non-tuberculate ventrolateral folds. Dorsal scales weakly heterogeneous, domed to slightly conical; regularly distributed tubercles (about four times size of adjacent scales), extending from shoulder region onto tail base, smaller tubercles on postocular region, crown, occiput and nape; most tubercles bearing a keel, those on flanks conical, often lacking a distinct keel, those on posterior trunk and sacral region most prominent; tubercles in 17 regular rows at midbody, typically separated from one another by two dorsal granules. Ventral scales larger than dorsals, smooth, oval and subimbricate, largest on posterior abdomen and in precloacal region. Midbody scale rows 34. Seven precloacal pores in a continuous inverted Vshaped series. No precloacal groove nor depression present. A continuous row of slightly enlarged femoral scales, with no pores nor pits, smaller than the pore-bearing precloacal scales but approximately twice the size of the adjacent anterior femoral scales, extending along the length of the femur. One postcloacal spur on each side, each bearing two enlarged conical scales.

Scales on palm and sole smooth, rounded to oval or hexagonal, slightly domed. Scalation on dorsal surfaces of limbs similar to body dorsum, the anterior lacking, the posterior showing, enlarged conical tubercles interspersed among smaller scales. Fore and hind limbs relatively long, slender (ForeaL/SVL ratio 0.16, TibiaL/SVL ratio 0.20). Digits long, slender, inflected at interphalangeal joints, all bearing robust, slightly recurved claws. Basal subdigital lamellae broad, ovoid to rectangular, without scansorial surface (5–5–5–6–5 right manus, 5–5–6–8–6 right pes); narrow lamellae distal to digital inflection and not including ventral claw sheath: 8–9–11–11–9 (right manus), 9– 10–12–12–12 (right pes); no interdigital webbing. Relative length of digits: IV>III>II>V>I (manus); IV>V>III>II>I (pes). Mostly regenerated tail, long, gently tapering to pointed tip, longer than SVL (TailL/SVL ratio 1.21). The regenerated tail shows small subcaudals (for the condition of subcaudals in original tails, see Variation).

Coloration in life. Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs and tail light brown. Wide dark brown nuchal band, darker at its anterior and posterior borders and edged with a yellow thin margin. Dark brown band between orbit and snout, not bordered by a yellow margin. One long dark brown band, darker at its anterior and posterior edges and separated from background color by a thin yellow margin, above forelimb insertion, a second such band above mid-abdomen, a third above posterior part of abdomen and partly above hind limb insertion, and a fourth above anterior portion of tail; second and third bands not extending to lower part of flanks. Regenerated portion of tail light brown, slightly mottled with dark brown, underside of regenerated tail darker. Ventral surfaces of head, limbs, belly and cloacal area whitish.

Variation. Main morphometric and meristic characters of the type series are provided in Table 1 . Morphological and coloration characters of the paratypes agree in most respects with those of the holotype, differing only in minor details. The female paratype lacks precloacal pores, but has a continuous series of six shallow precloacal pits. The tails of the male and female paratypes and of an unpreserved adult female shown on Figure 4 are original and show seven, nine and 11 dark brown bands encircling the tail, respectively; original (portions of) tails show enlarged median subcaudals ( Fig. 4 ). Supranasals separated by two small internasals, aligned antero-posteriorly, in both paratypes. The three types and the two other known adult individuals show the same pattern and coloration on head and dorsum.

Distribution and natural history. The species is currently known only from its type locality in Ban Bang Pu. The limestone reliefs on which it was found are an extension of the Khao Sam Roi Yot massif, itself a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills. We suspect that the species’ range extends within Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park. A captive female laid two eggs on 21 July 2013; their respective dimensions were 12.2 x 11.8 mm and 12.3 x 12.2 mm ( Figures 4–6 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet samroiyot refers to the name of the district in which the type locality is situated; in Thai language, sam roi yot means ‘’three hundred peaks’’. It is a noun in apposition, invariable. We suggest the following common names: Took-kai Sam Roi Yot ( Thai), Sam Roi Yot bent-toed gecko (English), Cyrtodactyle de Sam Roï Yot (French), Samroiyot Bogenfingergecko ( German), Samroiyotkromvingergekko (Dutch).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Live adult holotype of Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. Photo. by M. Sumontha.

FIGURE 2. Ventral view of live adult holotype of Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. Photo. by M. Sumontha.

FIGURE 3. Preserved type series of Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. (from top to bottom: female paratype, male holotype, male paratype). Photo. by O. S. G. Pauwels.

FIGURE 4. Live adult female Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. from type locality, not preserved. Photo. by M. Sumontha.

FIGURE 5. Ventral view of the live adult female Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. shown on Fig. 4; eggs are visible through the abdominal skin. Photo. by M. Sumontha.

FIGURE 6. Eggs from adult female Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. shown on Figures 4 & 5. Photo. by M. Sumontha.

FIGURE 7. Another live adult female Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. from type locality, not preserved. Photo. by W. Thanaprayotsak.

Tables

TABLE 1. Meristic and morphometric (in mm) data for the type series of Cyrtodactylus samroiyot sp. nov. Paired meristic characters are given left / right.

	THNHM 22549 Holotype	CUMZ-R-0.2320 Paratype	QSMI 1167 Paratype
Sex	Male	Male	Female
SVL	65.0	63.2	66.9
ForeaL	10.3	10.5	10.8
TibiaL	13.0	12.5	13.9
TailL	78.8 (only first 7.0 original)	87.0	87.5
TailW	5.4	3.9	5.5
AG	29.7	25.6	31.7
HeadL	20.7	20.4	20.8
HeadW	12.4	11.9	12.5
HeadH	7.8	7.4	8.0
OrbD	5.2	5.6	5.0
OrbEar	5.2	4.9	5.9
SnOrb	7.7	7.4	7.5
NosOrb	5.6	5.0	5.5
Interorb	4.1	4.1	4.5
EarL	1.3	1.4	1.5
Internar	1.9	1.9	1.9
DorTub	17	18	17
PreclPi/PreclPo	7 PreclPo	7 PreclPo	6 PreclPi
FemPi/FemPo	0	0	0
Ven	34	33	33
SL	14/13	13/12	14/12
IL	10/10	10/10	9/10
InterorbSc	28	26	28