Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi Grismer, Sumontha, Cota, Grismer, Wood, Pauwels & Kunya, 2010

Kamolnorranath’s Rock Gecko

Fig. 67

Cnemaspis siamensis Grismer, Chan, Nurolhuda, & Sumontha, 2008a:54

Holotype. THNHM 15908. Type locality “ Petchphanomwat Waterfall, in Tai Rom Yen National Park, Ban Nasan District, Surat Thani Province (8°56.88’N 99°31.82’E)”, Thailand at 5 m in elevation.

Diagnosis. Maximum SVL 37.8 mm; eight or nine supralabials; seven or eight infralabials; smooth to weakly keeled ventral scales; six or seven contiguous, pore-bearing, precloacal scales with elongate pores; 19–24 paravertebral tubercles; body tubercles semi-linearly arranged, present on flanks; tubercles present in lateral caudal furrows; ventrolateral row of caudal tubercles absent; lateral row of caudal tubercles; caudal tubercles do not encircle tail; subcaudals keeled, bearing a median row of weakly enlarged scales; one or two postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base; no enlarged femoral, subtibial or submetatarsal scales; subtibials may or may not be keeled; 24–28 subdigital fourth toe lamellae; light-colored prescapular crescent variably present (Tables 6,7).

Color pattern in life (Fig. 67). Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs and tail brown to pale-yellow; rostrum bearing dark and light irregular markings; occiput darker than top of head; postorbital stripping faint to prominent; light vertebral blotch on nape followed by 4–6, lightly colored, butterfly-shaped, vertebral blotches on body which may fade immediately anterior to level of groin; white markings weakly edged in darker coloration; no light-colored bars on flanks; light-colored prescapular crescent variably present; limbs bearing dark and lightcolored mottling faintly resembling a banding pattern; ventral surfaces uniformly beige with faint, black stippling in all scales; distinct dark and light color phases.

Distribution. Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi is known only from the type locality at Petchphanomwat Waterfall, in Tai Rom Yen National Park, Kanchanadid District, Surat Thani Province and Tham Khao Sonk hill, Thachana District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (9°34’N 99°10’E), approximately 110 km to the north (Grismer et al. 2010a; Fig. 3).

Natural history. Grismer et al. (2010a) noted that Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi expresses a wide range of substrate utilization. Lizards have been found on karst, beneath rocks, and on vegetation and buildings during evening hours in lowland forests (Fig. 67).

Remarks. Grismer et al. (2010a) noted that the relatively wide separation (~ 110 km) between the Petchphanomwat Waterfall and Tham Khao Sonk suggests there are probably undiscovered, geographically intervening populations of Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi in the appropriate habitat separating these two localities. Unlike other species of Cnemaspis, C. kamolnorranathi shows intrapopulational variation in the degree of keeling of the ventral and subtibial scales suggesting C. kamolnorranathi may be composed of more than one species.

Relationships. The distribution of Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi in Peninsular Thailand would align it with members of the siamensis group (Fig. 3). Unlike the northern sister species of this group C. huaseesom and C. siamensis, C. kamolnorranathi is restricted to the Isthmus of Kra but has a variably present light-colored, prescapular crescent that diagnoses a monophyletic group composed of C. chanardi, C. omari sp. nov., and C. roticanai that occurs south of the Isthmus Kra (Table 6). This would suggest C. kamolnorranathi may be more closely related to southern species.

Material examined. Thailand: Surat Thani Province, Ban Nasan District, Tai Rom Yen National Park, Petchphanomwat Waterfall THNHM 15908, PSUZC-RT 2010.52, KZM 006; Thachana District, Tham Khao Sonk hill CUMZ-R 2009,6,24-3. These specimens represent the type series .