Cyrtodactylus tigroides, Bauer, Aaron M., Sumontha, Montri & Pauwels, Olivier S. G., 2003

Bauer, Aaron M., Sumontha, Montri & Pauwels, Olivier S. G., 2003, Two new species of Cyrtodactylus (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Thailand, Zootaxa 376, pp. 1-18 : 3-9

Cyrtodactylus tigroides sp. nov.

Figures 1–3 .

Holotype.— Chulalongkorn University Museum of Zoology ( CUMZ) R 2002.296C, adult male; Thailand, Kanchanaburi Province, Sai­Yok District, Ban Tha Sao, 14°06’N 99°25’E; collected by Montri Sumontha, July 2002.

Paratype. – Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique ( IRSNB) 2586 (Field number OP 11), adult female; same data as for holotype.

Etymology. — The specific epithet is derived from the Latin tigris (tiger) and the suffix – oides (resembling) and is in reference to the bold banding pattern of this species. The epithet tigris is preoccupied in Cyrtodactylus by Gecko tigris Tytler a subjective synonym of C. rubidus (Blyth) .

Definition. — A moderately sized Cyrtodactylus , snout­vent length to at least 83 mm; body slender, limbs and digits long, slender, original tail very long; one pair of enlarged postmental scales in broad contact with one another; dorsal scalation with 13 rows of keeled tubercles; 34 ventral scales across belly between ventrolateral folds; no precloacal groove, 8–9 precloacal pores separated by a diastema of 7–9 poreless scales from a series of 5–7 femoral pores on each thigh, pores present in both males and females. 7–8 broad basal lamellae and 12–15 narrow distal lamellae beneath 4th toe of pes. Median subcaudal scales enlarged to form broad transverse plates. Dorsal pattern of yellowish­cream bands on a brown background, dorsum of head yellowish with symmetrical brown markings.

Description (based on holotype, CUMZ R 2002.296C). — Adult male. Snout­vent length 83.22 mm. Head relatively long (HeadL/SVL ratio 0.28), wide (HeadW/HeadL ratio 0.67), not markedly depressed (HeadH/HL ratio 0.43), distinct from slender neck. Lores and interorbital region weakly inflated, canthus rostralis not especially prominent, frontonasal region strongly concave. Snout elongate (SnEye/HeadL ratio 0.43), pointed; longer than eye diameter (OrbD/SnEye ratio 0.63); scales on snout and forehead small, rounded, granular, homogeneous; scales on snout larger than those on occipital region. Eye large (OrbD/HeadL ratio 0.27); pupil vertical with crenelated margins; supraciliaries short, bearing tiny conical spines posteriorly. Ear opening rounded, relatively large (EarL/HeadL ratio 0.07); eye to ear distance less than diameter of eye (EyeEar/OrbD ratio 0.97). Rostral 63% deep (2.11 mm) as wide (3.34 mm), incompletely divided (50%) dorsally by rostral groove; two enlarged supranasals separated by two, small, oval internasals arranged in longitudinal series; rostral in contact with supralabial I, supranasals, and anterior internasal; nostrils round, each surrounded by supranasal, rostral, first supralabial, and two enlarged postnasals; a valvular projection occupies posterior portion of nostril; 2–3 rows of small scales separate orbit from supralabials. Mental triangular, wider (3.17 mm) than deep (2.32 mm); one pair of enlarged postmentals, sharply pointed anteriorly; each bordered anteromedially by mental, medially by other postmental, anterolaterally by first infralabial, laterally by an enlarged lateral chinshield, and posteriorly by two small chin granules and a larger chin shield (approximately 4 times size of granules); supralabials to midorbital position 9; enlarged supralabials to angle of jaws 11; infralabials 10 (right) to 11 (left); interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal bone 20.

Body slender, elongate (TrunkL/SVL ratio 0.45) with very weakly developed, nondenticulate ventrolateral folds. Dorsal scales granular to weakly conical; regularly distributed tubercles (4–6 times size of adjacent scales) extending from occiput and temporal region on to back and tail base; anterior tubercles weakly conical, posterior tubercles with a weakly developed keel on the anterior­facing surface, extending approximately 2/3 along the tubercle; tubercles in approximately 13 rows at midbody, absent from flanks. Ventral scales much larger than dorsals, smooth, subimbricate, with rounded free margins; somewhat larger midventrally, particularly in precloacal region; midbody scale rows across belly to base of ventrolateral folds 34; gular region with relatively homogeneous, smooth scales. 8 large precloacal pores in continuous series, each borne in an enlarged scale; 6 (left) to 7 (right) femoral pores in enlarged femoral scales, each series separated from precloacal pore scales by a diastema of 9 poreless scales; no precloacal groove. Scales on palm and sole smooth, rounded; scalation on dorsal aspects of hindlimb heterogeneous, with enlarged, weakly conical tubercles interspersed among smaller scales; forelimbs with tubercles less well developed.

Fore and hindlimbs moderately long, slender (ForeaL/SVL ratio 0.18; CrusL/SVL ratio 0.21); digits long, slender, strongly inflected at interphalangeal joints, all bearing robust, slightly recurved claws; basal subdigital lamellae nearly as broad as digit, rectangular, without scansorial surfaces (5–6–7–7–6 manus; 6–6–8–7–8 pes); narrow lamellae distal to digital inflection and not including ventral claw sheath: 10–12–13–12–12 (manus), 12–12–13–15 –15 (pes); interdigital webbing absent. Relative length of digits (manus; measurements in mm in parentheses): III (7.51)> IV (7.43)> II (6.71)> V (6.32)> I (4.66); (pes): V (9.51)> IV (8.91)> III (8.61)> II (7.43)> I (5.39).

Original tail (in paratype) long, slender, gently tapering to tip; much longer than snoutvent length (TailL/SVL ratio 1.41); original portion of tail weakly segmented; each segment 7 scale rows in extent; dorsal caudal scales flat, smooth, rectangular, becoming elongate posteriorly, homogeneous except for 2 basalmost segments where 6 parasagittal rows of enlarged, weakly keeled tubercles continue from the body dorsum; ventral scales smooth, greatly enlarged, extending the entire width of the tail venter; two such transverse plates per tail segment. Series of 3 small, smooth, conical postcloacal spurs on each side of tailbase.

Osteology: Parietal bones paired; stapes imperforate. Phalangeal formula 2–3–4–5–3 for manus and 2–3–4–5–4 for pes. Presacral vertebrae 26, including 3 anterior cervical (without ribs), 1 lumbar, and 2 sacral vertebrae; 5 pygal and 16.5 post pygal caudal vertebrae to point of regeneration in holotype (40 in original tail of paratype). Male holotype with one pair of crescentic cloacal bones present, flared posterolaterally and with a minute, nodular, accessory ossification laterally (cloacal bones lacking in female paratype). Endolymphatic sacs not enlarged extracranially.

Coloration. (in preservative) — Base color a mid brown. Banded with slightly paler markings, each outlined by darker brown borders anteriorly and posteriorly. One pale band across nape, four across trunk between limb insertions. Dorsal pattern somewhat faded on flanks. Alternating light and dark pattern of dorsum continues on to tail. A prominent brown collar with darker margins from posterior border of orbits across occiput and anterior nape continuing anterior of orbits to nostril. Dorsum of head pale brown with scattered, slightly darker, diffuse markings. Loreal region suffused with darker pigment. A light area surrounding ear. Labial scales brown with lighter borders. Limbs pale brown, weakly banded with alternating darker, irregular markings. Venter cream, tinged by light to mid brown speckling on limbs. Tail mid brown beneath.

Color in life much bolder ( Figs. 2–3 ), base color mid brown with yellowish­cream bands with well­defined dark brown borders. Dorsum of head yellowish­cream with welldefined symmetrical mid brown markings with darker brown borders.

Variation. — Comparative mensural data for the holotype and paratype are presented in Table 1 . The paratype is similar to the holotype in most respects except as noted. IRSNB 2586: Adult female. 9 supralabials to middle of eye, 12 enlarged supralabials to corner of mouth; 10 infralabials. 19 interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal bone. Each postmental bordered posteriorly by 3 granules. Precloacal pores in continuous series of 9, separated by diastema of 9 poreless scales from series of 5 left femoral pores and separated by diastema of 7 poreless scales from series of 7 femoral pores; all pores smaller than in male holotype. Enlarged basal subdigital lamellae 5–6–6–6–6 (manus), 5–6–7–8–7 (pes); narrow lamellae distal to digital inflection and not including ventral claw sheath: 9– 10–12–12–11 (manus), 10–11–13–12–13 (pes). Color pattern similar to holotype, but paler. 10 dark bands on original tail. Venter uniform cream.

Diagnosis.— Cyrtodactylus tigroides may be distinguished from all congeners on the basis of the following combination of characters: slender body, largely homogeneous body scalation, low number of rows (13) of small tubercles, elongate digits and tail, 8­9 precloacal pores separated from series of 5–7 femoral pores in enlarged scales on each thigh (males and females), absence of precloacal groove, and dorsal color pattern consisting of alternating light and dark bands.

C. tigroides C. chanhomeae The condition of precloacal and femoral scales and pores in males has traditionally been widely used to distinguish members of the genus Cyrtodactylus (e.g., Smith 1935; Darevsky & Szczerbak 1997; Bauer 2002, 2003). On this basis C. tigroides may be distinguished from the following species by the absence of a precloacal groove: C. annulatus (Taylor) , C. cavernicolus Inger & King , C. fumosus (Müller) , C. marmoratus (Kuhl) , C. papuensis (Brongersma) , C. philippinicus (Steindachner) , C. pubisulcus Inger , C. pulchellus , C. rubidus , C. sadleiri Wells & Wellington; from C. biordinis Brown & McCoy by the presence of a single, versus double row of femoral pores; from the following species by the presence of precloacal pores: C. jellesmae (Boulenger) , C. laevigatus Darevsky , C. paradoxus (Darevsky & Szczerbak) , C. sermowaiensis (de Rooij), and most members of the subgenus Geckoella ( C. albofasciatus [Boulenger], C. collegalensis [Beddome], C.

deccanensis [Günther], C. jeyporensis [Beddome], C. nebulosus [Beddome], and C. yakhuna [Deraniyagala]); from the following species by the presence of femoral pores: C. adleri Das , C. brevidactylus Bauer , C. condorensis (Smith) , C. consobrinoides (Annandale) , C. elok Dring , C. fraenatus (Günther) , C. ingeri Hikida , C. intermedius , C. irianjayaensis Rösler , C. irregularis (Smith) , C. khasiensis (Jerdon) , C. lateralis (Werner) , C. malayanus (de Rooij), C. matsuii Hikida , C. oldhami , C. peguensis , C. quadrivirgatus , C. sumonthai , C. sworderi (Smith) , C. yoshii Hikida , C. (G.) triedrus (Günther) , and three new species from Myanmar ( Bauer 2003); from the following species by the presence of a diastema between the series of femoral pores and the precloacal pores: C. feae (Boulenger) , C. jarujini , C. loriae (Boulenger) , C. louisiadensis (de Vis), C. malcolmsmithi (Constable) , C. novaeguineae (Schlegel) , C. papilionoides , C. phongnhakebangensis Ziegler et al. , C. tiomanensis Das & Lim , C. variegatus , and C. sp. nov. (this paper, see below); from the following species by the presence of greatly enlarged subcaudal plates in the original tail: C. agusanensis (Taylor) , C. gubernatoris (Annandale) , and C. wetariensis (Dunn) ; from the following species by the presence of 13 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles (vs. 16 or more rows): C. aaroni Günther & Rösler , C. abrae Wells , C. angularis , C. baluensis (Mocquard) , C. brevipalmatus , C. consobrinus (Peters) , C. darmandvillei (Weber) , C. derongo Brown & Parker , C. interdigitalis , C. mimikanus (Boulenger) , C. slowinskii Bauer , C. tuberculatus (Lucas & Frost) , and four new species from Myanmar ( Bauer 2003); and from C. redimiculus King by its distinctive bold yellowish­cream banding (vs. narrow pale bands).

Cyrtodactylus tigroides is similar in size, habitus, and, to a lesser extent, color to only two other Thai members of the genus: C. sumonthai and C. n. sp. (see below). It may easily be distinguished from both of these both by details of color and by the configuration of the precloacal and femoral pores.

Distribution and Natural History.— Cyrtodactylus tigroides is known only from Sai­ Yok, Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand, close to the Myanmar border. Specimens of the new species were found by night (20h00) along a dry stream at the foot of a limestone hill covered by bamboo forest. Individuals were walking on or hiding in exposed limestone, 1.0– 1.5 m above the ground. Another species, C. cf. peguensis (CUMZ R 2003.19, IRSNB 16653), was found along the same stream, but only on slender branches and vines or on small pieces of limestone near ground level.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Adult male holotype of Cyrtodactylus tigroides, sp. nov. (CUMZ R 2002.296 C) from Ban Tha Sao, Sai­Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. Photo by Aaron M. Bauer.

FIGURE 2. Living specimen of Cyrtodactylus tigroides, sp. nov. showing the very long tail, elongate, slender limbs and digits, and characteristic dorsal banding pattern of the species. Photo by Nonn Panitvong.

FIGURE 3. Living specimen of Cyrtodactylus tigroides, sp. nov. exhibiting a particularly bold dorsal patterning. Photo by Lawan Chanhome.

Tables

TABLE 1. Mensural data for the type series of Cyrtodactylus tigroides and C. chanhomeae. Abbreviations as in Materials and Methods, all measurements in mm.

	CUMZ R 2002.296C holotype	IRSNB 2586 paratype	IRSNB 2585 holotype	CUMZ R 2003.62 paratype
Sex	male	female	male	male
SVL HeadL HeadW	83.22 23.41 15.59	74.25 21.27 13.01	69.90 21.43 12.97	78.81 22.88 14.04
HeadH	10.15	8.58	7.64	8.43
OrbD EyeEar	6.30 6.09	5.61 5.24	5.47 4.36	5.27 5.12
SnEye NarEye Interorb	10.01 7.31 7.99	8.55 6.12 7.20	8.62 6.55 7.30	8.91 6.77 7.82
EarL	1.69	1.64	1.27	1.63
Internar TrunkL ForeaL	2.56 37.67 14.95	2.27 30.05 11.89	1.50 26.40 12.84	1.14 29.85 13.69
CrusL	17.73	14.38	15.81	15.34
TailL (total) TailL (regenerated)	116.95 54.96	108.45 —	74.43 14.09	74.72 65.76
TailW	7.35	7.02	6.56	6.54