Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis, Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Anuar, Shahrul, Quah, Evan S. H., Muin, Mohd Abdul, Mohamed, Maketab, Onn, Chan Kin, Sumarli, Alexandra X., Loredo, Ariel I. & Heinz, Heather M., 2014

Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Anuar, Shahrul, Quah, Evan S. H., Muin, Mohd Abdul, Mohamed, Maketab, Onn, Chan Kin, Sumarli, Alexandra X., Loredo, Ariel I. & Heinz, Heather M., 2014, The phylogenetic relationships of three new species of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from poorly explored regions in northeastern Peninsular Malaysia, Zootaxa 3786 (3), pp. 359-381 : 369-375

Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis sp. nov.

Jelawang Bent-toed Gecko Fig. 4

Cyrtodactylus pulchellus Norhayati, Shukor & Juliana 2005: 194 Holotype. Adult male LSUHC 11062 collected on 26 June 2013 by Jacob A. Chan at 0 100 hrs from Kem Baha, Gunung Stong, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia (5° 20.465 N 101° 58.001 E; at 461 m elevation).

Paratypes. Paratypes LSUHC 11060–61, 11063 are all females and have the same collection data as the holotype.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Cyrtodactylus by having 9–12 supralabials; 9–11 infralabials; moderately strong body tuberculation; tubercles on ventral surface of forelimbs, gular region, and in ventrolateral body folds; 36–42 paravertebral tubercles; 23–25 longitudinal tubercle rows; 31–36 ventral scales; 21–24 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; 36 femoroprecloacal pores in males; deep precloacal groove; four dark dorsal body bands; body band/interspace ratio 1.00–1.50; body bands and nuchal loop not edged with a thin yellowish line; no scattered white tubercles on dorsum; 10 dark caudal bands on original tail; white caudal bands infused with dark brown; and a maximum SVL of 119.8 mm. These characters are scored across all species of the C. pulchellus complex in Table 5.

Description of holotype. Adult male SVL 118.9 mm; head large, moderate in length (HL/SVL 0.29), wide (HW/HL 0.70), somewhat flattened (HD/HL 0.37), distinct from neck, triangular in dorsal profile; lores concave anteriorly, inflated posteriorly; frontal and prefrontal regions deeply concave; canthus rostralis sharply rounded anteriorly; snout elongate (ES/HL 0.44), rounded in dorsal profile, laterally constricted; eye large (ED/HL 0.21); ear opening elliptical, moderate in size (EL/HL 0.07), obliquely oriented; eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye; rostral rectangular, divided dorsally by an inverted Y-shaped furrow, bordered posteriorly by left and right supranasals, and one medial postrostral (=internasal), bordered laterally by first supralabials; external nares bordered anteriorly by rostral, dorsally by large anterior supranasal and smaller posterior supranasal, posteriorly by two postnasals, ventrally by first supralabial; 11(R,L) rectangular supralabials extending to just beyond upturn of labial margin, tapering abruptly below midpoint of eye; first supralabial largest; 10 R,L) infralabials tapering in size posteriorly; scales of rostrum and lores weakly raised, larger than granular scales on top of head and occiput, those on posterior portion of canthus rostralis slightly larger; scales of occiput intermixed with small tubercles; region between eyes atuberculate; large, boney frontal ridges bordering orbit confluent with boney, transverse, parietal ridge; dorsal superciliaries elongate, smooth, largest anteriorly; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabials and posteriorly by left and right, rectangular postmentals which contact medially for 50% of their length; single row of slightly enlarged, elongate sublabials extending posteriorly to fourth infralabials; small, granular to flat, gular scales grading posteriorly into larger, flat, smooth, imbricate, pectoral and ventral scales.

Body relatively short (AG/SVL 0.46) with well-defined, non-tuberculate, ventrolateral folds; dorsal scales small, granular, interspersed with large, regularly arranged, keeled tubercles, smaller intervening tubercles occasionally present; tubercles extend from occiput to caudal constriction and onto tail; caudal tubercles at base of tail absent; tubercles on occiput and nape small, those on body largest; approximately 25 longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody; 36 paravertebral tubercles; 34 flat imbricate ventral scales between ventrolateral body folds, ventral scales larger than dorsal scales; precloacal scales large, smooth; deep precloacal groove.

Forelimbs moderate, relatively short (FL/SVL 0.16); scales on dorsal surfaces of forelimbs, small, juxtaposed, intermixed with large tubercles in near contact with one another; scales of ventral surface of forearm flat, subimbricate, intermixed with weak tubercles; palmar scales weakly rounded; digits well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae rectangular proximal to joint inflection, only slightly expanded distal to inflection; digits more narrow distal to joints; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; hind limbs more robust than forelimbs, moderate in length (TBL/SVL 0.20), larger tubercles on dorsal surface of thigh separated by smaller subimbricate scales, tubercles on dorsal surfaces of foreleg same size as those on thigh; ventral scales of thigh flat, smooth, imbricate, larger than dorsal granular scales; ventral, tibial scales flat, smooth, imbricate; single row of greatly enlarged, flat, rectangular, imbricate, pore-bearing femoral scales extend from knee to knee through precloacal region where they are continuous with enlarged, pore-bearing precloacal scales; 36 contiguous, pore-bearing femoro-precloacal scales forming an inverted T bearing a deep, precloacal groove in which 11 pore-bearing scales are found (six on left, five on right); postfemoral scales immediately posterior to pore-bearing scale row smaller, forming an abrupt union with pore-bearing postfemoral scales on posteroventral margin of thigh; plantar scales low, slightly raised; digits well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae proximal to joint inflection rectangular, only slightly expanded distal to inflection; digits more narrow distal to joints; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; 21(R,L) subdigital lamellae on 4th toe.

Tail 112.1 mm in length, posterior portion regenerated, 8.2 mm in width at base, tapering to a point; dorsal scales of tail flat, squarish; subcaudal region bearing large median row of transverse scales; no caudal furrows; base of tail bearing hemipenial swellings; one small, postcloacal tubercle on hemipenial swellings; postcloacal scales smooth, flat, large, imbricate.

Coloration in life. Dorsal ground color of head, body, and limbs light brown, immaculate; no V-shaped line on rostrum; wide, dark-brown nuchal loop edged anteriorly and posteriorly by thin, white line bearing tubercles; four wide, dark-brown body bands between nuchal loop and hind limb insertions edged anteriorly and posteriorly by white tubercles; band/interspace ratio 1.00; no markings on posterior margin of thigh; regenerated tail unicolor tan; ventral surface of head, body, and limbs beige, immaculate except for black stipples in each scale; subcaudal region tan.

Variation ( Fig. 4 ). The female paratypes resemble the holotype in all aspects of coloration. LSUHC 11060 has no tail and in LSUHC 11061 the posterior one-half of the tail is missing and the anterior one-half is original. The tail in LSUHC 11063 is original and complete. The white caudal bands in LSUHC 11061 and 11063 are greatly infused with dark brown. The posterior one-fourth of the tail in the subadult LSUHC 11063 is white. The dorsal caudal scales in LSUHC 11061 and 11063 are flat, squarish and segmented bearing 6–8 transverse scale rows per segment. The posterior margins of segments are bordered by four larger tubercles dorsally in the anterior four-fifths of tail and fewer posteriorly. The subcaudal region has a median row of large, transverse scales. Very shallow dorsal and lateral caudal furrows extend the entire length of the original portion of the tails. Meristic differences are listed in Table 6.

Distribution. Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis sp. nov. is known only from the type locality at Kem Baha, Gunung Stong, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia ( Fig. 1 ). It is expected that its distribution is more extensive throughout Gunung Stong both above and below the type locality. Norhayati et al. (2005) recorded a specimen that was identified as C. pulchellus from around a stream near the Pergau River in the Gunung Basor Forest Reserve, Kelantan. Due to the close proximity of the location to Gunung Stong, we believe those specimens were incorrectly identified and should be assigned to this new species.

Etymology. The specific epithet jelawangensis is an adjective in reference to Hutan Lipur Jelawang, the recreational forest at the base of Gunung Stong near the type locality.

Natural History. Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis sp. nov. was collected at night along a fast-flowing stream strewn with granite boulders coursing through hill dipterocarp forest ( Fig. 4 ) between 455 m and 470 m in elevation. Lizards were most common on large granite boulders in areas where they could easily escape into a nearby crack or between boulders. Others were seen on roots beneath an earthen overhang and one specimen was found on a tree trunk.

Comparisons (Tables 5, 6). Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis sp. nov. is differentiated from all other species of the C. pulchellus complex by having a combination of moderately strong tuberculation on body; tubercles on ventral surfaces of forelimbs; tubercles in gular region or in ventrolateral body folds; 36–42 paravertebral tubercles; 31–36 ventral scales; 21–24 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; 36 femoroprecloacal pores; a deep precloacal groove; four body bands; 1.00–1.50 body band/interspace ratio; body bands and nuchal loop edged with white tubercles; no scattered white tubercles on dorsum; posterior one-fourth of the tail in hatchlings and juveniles white; ten dark caudal bands on original tail; and white caudal bands infused with brown in adults (Table 6). Within the C. pulchellus complex, C. jelawangensis sp. nov. is the sister species of C. timur sp. nov. but separated from it on the basis of having moderately strong as opposed to weak tuberculation; having as opposed to lacking tubercles on the ventral surfaces of the forelimbs; 36 as opposed to 21 or 22 femoroprecloacal pores; posterior portion of the tail in hatchlings and juveniles banded, not white; and immaculate white caudal bands in adults (Table 5).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution of the species of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex. Stars indicate the type localities of the three new species.

FIGURE 4. Upper: adult female paratype (LSUHC 11063) of Cyrtodactylus jelawangensis sp. nov. from Kem Baha, Hutan Lipur Jelawang, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. Lower: microhabitat at the type locality.