Cyrtodactylus doisuthep, Kunya, Kirati, Panmongkol, Aumporn, Pauwels, Olivier S. G., Sumontha, Montri, Meewasana, Jiraporn, Bunkhwamdi, Woraphot & Dangsri, Siriwat, 2014

Kunya, Kirati, Panmongkol, Aumporn, Pauwels, Olivier S. G., Sumontha, Montri, Meewasana, Jiraporn, Bunkhwamdi, Woraphot & Dangsri, Siriwat, 2014, A new forest-dwelling Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand, Zootaxa 3811 (2), pp. 251-261 : 252-258

Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov.

( Figs 1–4 )

Holotype. THNHM 22543 (field no. MS 317); adult male from Doi Suthep (18°47’55.6’’ N, 098°55’52.4’’ E, alt. 676 asl), Amphoe (= District) Muang, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. Collected by Udom Buddeekam at approximately 23h00 on 29 July 2008.

Paratypes. CUMZ-R-0.2318 (field no. MS 318), adult female, and QSMI 1168 (field no. MS 319), subadult female, same locality, date and collector data same as holotype.

Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other congeneric species by its maximal known SVL of 90.5 mm; 19 or 20 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; a continuous series of 34 or 35 enlarged precloacofemoral scales, including six or seven pitted scales on each femur (male and females) separated by a diastema from six pitted (females) or pore-bearing (male) precloacal scales; no precloacal groove nor depression; transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; and six or seven irregular thin beige dorsal bands between limb insertions.

Description of holotype. Adult male. SVL 85.5 mm. TailL 81.5 mm (only first 31.7 mm original). Head relatively long (HeadL/SVL ratio 0.29), wide (HeadW/HeadL ratio 0.64), not markedly depressed, distinct from slender neck. Loreal region inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout elongate (SnOrb/HeadL ratio 0.39), rounded, longer than orbit diameter (OrbD/SnOrb ratio 0.70); scales on snout small, rounded to oval, granular to weakly conical, mostly homogeneous, larger than those on crown, interorbital and occipital regions. Eye large (OrbD/HeadL ratio 0.27); pupil vertical with crenelated margins; supraciliaries short, those at posterior part of orbit bearing small conical spines. Ear opening rounded, relatively small (EarL/HeadL ratio 0.06); orbit to ear distance subequal to orbit diameter (OrbEar/OrbD ratio 0.99). Rostral much wider (3.8 mm) than deep (2.2 mm), rostral crease very short (about a quarter of rostral height). Two enlarged supranasals in broad contact with one another, no internasals. Rostral in contact with first supralabials, nostrils, and supranasals. Nostrils oval, more or less laterally directed, each surrounded by supranasal, rostral, first supralabial and two enlarged postnasals. Three or four rows of small scales separate orbit from supralabials. Mental triangular, wider (3.7 mm) than deep (2.3 mm). A single pair of greatly enlarged postmentals in broad contact behind mental, each bordered anteromedially by mental, anterolaterally by first infralabial, posterolaterally by an enlarged lateral chinshield, and posteriorly by three granules. Supralabials to mid-orbital position 8/8, enlarged supralabials to angle of jaws 10/11. Infralabials 10/8. Interorbital scale rows across narrowest point of frontal bone 24.

Body slender, relatively short (AG/SVL ratio 0.41) with well-defined non-denticulate ventrolateral folds. Dorsal scales weakly heterogeneous, flat, domed or slightly conical; regularly distributed tubercles (about five 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 strong keel, less marked on lower flank tubercles, tubercles on posterior trunk and sacral region most prominent; tubercles in 20 regular rows at midbody, typically separated from one another by two or three dorsal granules. Ventral scales larger than dorsals, smooth, oval and subimbricate, largest on posterior abdomen and in precloacal region. Midbody scale rows across belly between ventrolateral folds 32. Gular region with homogeneous, smooth, juxtaposed granular scales. A continuous row of 34 enlarged femoroprecloacal scales, as follows, from left to right: one unpitted poreless femoral scale + six pitted femoral scales + a diastema of seven unpitted poreless scales + six pore-bearing preanal scales + a diastema of seven unpitted poreless scales + six pitted femoral scales + one unpitted poreless femoral scale. Postcloacal spurs each bearing two enlarged, conical scales.

Scales on palm and sole smooth, rounded to oval or hexagonal, slightly domed. Scalation on dorsal surface of hind and forelimbs similar to body dorsum with enlarged conical tubercles interspersed among smaller scales. Fore and hind limbs relatively long, slender (ForeaL/SVL ratio 0.16, TibiaL/SVL 0.19). Digits long, slender, inflected at interphalangeal joints, all bearing robust, slightly recurved claws. Basal subdigital lamellae broad, oval to rectangular, without scansorial surfaces (5-5-6-6-8 right manus, 5-6-7-8-7 right pes); narrow lamellae distal to digital inflection and not including ventral claw sheath: 10-11-12-13-11 (right manus), 10-11-12-11-13 (right pes); no interdigital webbing. Relative lengths of digits: III>IV>II>V>I (manus), V>III>IV>II>I (pes). Partly regenerated tail, gently tapering to pointed tip, slightly shorter than SVL (TailL/SVL ratio 0.95). Original and regenerated parts of tail with enlarged median subcaudal scales.

Coloration in life. Dorsal ground color of head, dorsum and tail blackish brown. Seven irregular narrow beige bands on dorsum between fore and hind limb insertions, bearing prominent white tubercles, most prominent on lower flanks ( Figure 1 ). Continuous nuchal loop connects orbits. Yellowish reticulated pattern on top of head. Ground color of upper surfaces of fore and hind limbs grayish brown, with irregular and discontinuous thin, beige bands and scattered whitish tubercles. Original part of tail showing four yellowish (most anterior) to whitish (most posterior) rings that do not encircle the tail. Iris dark brown. Throat, venter and undersides of fore and hind limbs uniformly beige; underside of original portion of tail brown; upper and under sides of regenerated portion of tail uniformly black.

Variation. The paratypes resemble the holotype in most aspects of morphology and coloration ( Figures 2–4 ). Main morphometric and meristic characters of the type series are provided in Table 1 . CUMZ-R-0.2318 shows an extralabial between IL three and four on the right side, not included in the IL count in Table 1 . In QSMI 1168, supranasals widely in contact. CUMZ-R-0.2318 shows a continuous series of 35 enlarged femoro-precloacal scales, as follows, from left to right: two unpitted poreless scales + six pitted femoral scales + a diastema of six unpitted poreless scales + six pitted preanal scales + a diastema of seven unpitted poreless scales + six pitted femoral scales + two unpitted poreless scales. QSMI 1168 shows a continuous series of 35 enlarged femoroprecloacal scales, as follows, from left to right: two unpitted poreless scales + six pitted femoral scales + a diastema of six unpitted poreless scales + six pitted preanal scales + a diastema of six unpitted poreless scales + seven pitted femoral scales + one unpitted poreless scale. Postcloacal spurs in CUMZ-R-0.2318 like in holotype. Tail of CUMZ-R-0.2318 original, longer than body (TailL/SVL ratio 1.19), with 10 light dorsal rings not encircling the tail.

Distribution and natural history. The species is known only from Doi Suthep in the Doi Suthep-Pui Range, in dry evergreen forest and deciduous dipterocarp forest, from 350 m to 1660 m asl. We encountered it while it was active at night on rocks along streams ( Figure 4 ), on Ficus spp. ( Moraceae ) roots, beneath logs, and in holes of cement blocks along buildings. Individuals are slow and easy to catch, and bite when handled. Other reptiles we found at direct proximity to Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. include Platysternon megacephalum (Gray) (Platysternidae) , Calotes emma alticristata Schmidt , Pseudocalotes kakhienensis (Anderson) and P. microlepis (Boulenger) (Agamidae) , Gekko gecko (Linnaeus) , Ptychozoon cf. kaengkrachanense Sumontha, Pauwels, Kunya, Limlikhitaksorn, Ruksue, Taokratok, Ansermet & Chanhome, 2012 (Gekkonidae) and Tropidophorus cf. thai Smith (Scincidae) .

Etymology. The specific epithet doisuthep refers to the type locality. It is a noun in apposition, invariable. We suggest the following common names: Took-kai Doi Suthep ( Thai ), Doi Suthep bent-toed gecko (English) , Cyrtodactyle du Doï Suthep (French), Doisuthep Bogenfingergecko ( German), Doisuthepkromvingergekko (Dutch).

We compared Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. to all species known from Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam (see Appendix as well as latest descriptions and intraspecific comparisons in Bauer et al. 2010, Ngo & Chan 2010, Ngo & Pauwels 2010, Nguyen et al. 2010, Chan-ard & Makchai 2011, David et al. 2011, Grismer 2008, 2011, Grismer et al. 2012, 2014, Johnson et al. 2012, Ngo & Grismer 2012, Sumontha et al. 2010, 2012, Pauwels et al. 2013, 2014, Ziegler et al. 2013, Luu et al. 2014, Pauwels & Sumontha 2014).

Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. shows an unusual mix of femoro-precloacal pores and pits. Strictly speaking, pits are not pores (the former being shallower depressions without waxy exudates). Our first approach has thus been to compare Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. with regional species showing precloacal pores but lacking femoral pores. In their recent description of Cyrtodactylus sanook , a species with precloacal pores but lacking femoral pores, Pauwels et al. (2013) compared that latter species with all other Indochinese and Thai species sharing this condition. Among all these species, Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. can be distinguished, by possessing enlarged femoral scales, from C. aurensis Grismer , C. brevidactylus Bauer , C. buchardi David, Teynié & Ohler , C. chauquangensis Hoang, Orlov, Ananjeva, Johns, Hoang & Dau , C. chrysopylos Bauer , C. cryptus Heidrich, Rösler, Vu, Böhme & Ziegler , C. durio Grismer, Shahrul, Quah, Muin, Chan, Grismer & Norhayati , C. elok Dring , C. hontreensis Ngo, Grismer & Grismer , C. mandalayensis Mahony , C. nigriocularis Nguyen, Orlov & Darevsky , C. pageli Schneider, Nguyen, Schmitz, Kingsada, Auer & Ziegler , C. pantiensis Grismer, Chan, Grismer, Wood & Belabut , C. pseudoquadrivirgatus Rösler, Vu, Nguyen, Ngo & Ziegler , C. stresemanni Rösler & Glaw , C. sumonthai Bauer, Pauwels & Chanhome, 2002 , C. sworderi (Smith) and C. wayakonei Nguyen, Kingsada, Rösler, Auer & Ziegler. By its possession of enlarged subcaudal scales, Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. is distinguished from C. bidoupimontis Nazarov, Poyarkov, Orlov, Phung, Nguyen, Hoang & Ziegler , C. brevidactylus , C. buchardi , C. bugiamapensis Nazarov, Poyarkov, Orlov, Phung, Nguyen, Hoang & Ziegler , C. cattienensis Geissler, Nazarov, Orlov, Böhme, Phung, Nguyen & Ziegler , C. chauquangensis , C. cryptus , C. durio , C. irregularis (Smith) , C. mandalayensis , C. martini Ngo , C. pantiensis , C. papilionoides Ulber & Grossmann , C. payacola Johnson, Quah, Anuar, Muin, Wood, Grismer, Greer, Chan, Ahmad, Bauer & Grismer, 2012 , C. pseudoquadrivirgatus , C. quadrivirgatus Taylor , C. stresemanni , C. sworderi and C. wakeorum Bauer (character state unknown in C. chrysopylos ). By its possession of 19–20 longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody, Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. is distinguishable from C. brevidactylus (27), C. buchardi (25), C. chrysopylos (16), C. condorensis (Smith) (22–24), C. durio (16), C. eisenmanae Ngo (14), C. elok (5–10), C. hontreensis (14), C. nigriocularis (0), C. pageli (9–14), C. pantiensis (21–23), C. papilionoides (12–14), C. quadrivirgatus (24), C. samroiyot Pauwels & Sumontha, 2014 (17–18), C. stresemanni (13), C. sumonthai (12) and C. wakeorum (24). Its six or seven irregular narrow beige bands readily distinguish it from Cyrtodactylus angularis (Smith) (W-shaped marks), C. aurensis (four narrow bands), C. bidoupimontis (blotches sometimes fused to form irregular wide bands), C. brevidactylus (blotches), C. buchardi (blotches), C. bugiamapensis (blotches), C. chauquangensis (three irregular bands), C. condorensis (blotches), C. durio (blotches), C. eisenmanae (four narrow bands), C. elok (blotches), C. hontreensis (three broad bands), C. intermedius (Smith) (four or five bands), C. irregularis (blotches), C. mandalayensis (blotches), C. nigriocularis (zero to four bands), C. oldhami (Theobald) (four lines or spots), C. pantiensis (blotches), C. papilionoides (blotches), C. paradoxus Darevsky & Szczerbak (irregular narrow bands connected to a vertebral line), C. payacola (blotches), C. peguensis (Boulenger) (spots), C. phuquocensis Ngo, Grismer & Grismer (four or five broad bands), C. quadrivirgatus (stripes), C. samroiyot (three broad bands), C. stresemanni (longitudinally elongated blotches), C. sumonthai (three bands), C. surin Chan-ard & Makchai (broad bands), C. sworderi (longitudinal lines of spots), C. teyniei (blotches), C. thochuensis Ngo & Grismer (3–5 irregular light bands), C. tiomanensis Das & Jim (three bands), C. wakeorum (five narrow bands), C. wayakonei (four or five thin irregular light bands) and C. yangbayensis Ngo & Chan (four or five light brown bands, wider than in C. doisuthep sp. nov.) (Bauer 2002, 2003; Rösler & Glaw 2008; Ngo & Chan 2010; David et al. 2011; Ngo & Grismer 2012). The number of precloacal pores of Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. (six) does not overlap with those of Cyrtodactylus aurensis (7–9), C. brevidactylus (8), C. bugiamapensis (7–11), C. chrysopylos (10+1), C. cryptus (9–11), C. durio (two parallel rows of 6 pores each), C. elok (7 or 8), C. hontreensis (7 or 8), C. intermedius (8–10), C. mandalayensis (5), C. martini (4), C. nigriocularis (0–2), C. oldhami (0–4), C. pageli (4), C. pantiensis (8 or 9), C. paradoxus (0–4), C. payacola (11–15), C. peguensis (7–9), C. phuquocensis (7–9), C. quadrivirgatus (0–4), C. samroiyot (7), C. sanook (3 or 4), C. stresemanni (10), C. sumonthai (2), C. sworderi (8 or 9), C. teyniei (14 - female) and C. thochuensis (3–5).

If one instead regards femoro-precloacal pits as equivalent to pores, the set of species to compare Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. with would shift to those showing precloacal and femoral pores separated by a diastema. This condition is also found in the recently described Cyrtodactylus kingsadai Ziegler, Phung, Le & Nguyen, 2013 from Vietnam and C. auribalteatus Sumontha, Panitvong & Deein, 2010 , C. dumnuii and C. khelangensis Pauwels, Sumontha, Panitvong & Varaguttanonda, 2014 from Thailand. Their respective descriptors provided comparisons of their new species with all currently known congeners from the Thai-Indochinese Region. Based on these most recent comparisons and the most recent revisions for the Thai and Indochinese Region, Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. is distinct from all known Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese and Thai species showing precloacal and femoral pores separated by a diastema by the combination of the following characters: enlarged subcaudals (absent in C. aequalis Bauer , C. huynhi Ngo & Bauer , and C. ziegleri Nazarov, Orlov, Nguyen & Ho ), six precloacal pores in males (11–12 in C. annandalei Bauer , 10 in C. bichnganae Ngo & Grismer , 7–9 in C. brevipalmatus Smith , 9 in C. caovansungi Orlov, Nguyen, Nazarov, Ananjeva & Nguyen , 9–11 in C. consobrinus (Peters) , 7–9 in C. huynhi and C. kingsadai , 15 in C. russelli Bauer , 9 in C. slowinskii Bauer , 3 or 4 in C. takouensis Ngo & Bauer , 8 or 9 in C. tigroides Bauer, Sumontha & Pauwels, 2003 ), 19–20 longitudinal tubercle rows (24 in C. aequalis , 16–18 in C. annandalei , 22–24 in C. auribalteatus , 16–18 in C. bichnganae , 12–18 in C. brevipalmatus , 16–18 in C. caovansungi , 14–16 in C. huongsonensis Luu, Nguyen, Do & Ziegler , 16–18 in C. huynhi , 22 in C. russelli , 9 or 10 in C. takouensis , 13 in C. tigroides ) and six or seven irregular thin light bands between limb insertions (three light bands in C. auribalteatus ; five or six light bands in C. dumnuii , wider than those in C. doisuthep sp. nov.; five light bands in C. huongsonensis ; four light bi-colored bands in C. khelangensis , four of five light bands in C. kingsadai , wider than those in C. doisuthep sp. nov.; blotched pattern in C. slowinskii ; three or four yellow bands in C. takouensis ; four yellow bands in C. tigroides ).

Among all the species showing precloacal pores but lacking femoral pores, the one showing the closest — although distinct — dorsal pattern to that of Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. is C. thochuensis , a species whose descriptors stated that it morphologically most closely resembles C. condorensis and C. paradoxus ( Ngo & Grismer 2012) . And among all Thai and Indochinese species, possessing femoral pores or not, the one showing the most similar dorsal pattern to Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. is the Southern Vietnamese C. kingsadai . It is itself, according to its descriptors ( Ziegler et al. 2013), phylogenetically allied to C. bugiamapensis , C. caovansungi , C. consobrinus , C. paradoxus , C. pubisulcus Inger , C. quadrivirgatus and C. ziegleri . Some of these latter species ( C. bugiamapensis , C. condorensis , C. paradoxus , C. pubisulcus , C. quadrivirgatus and C. thochuensis ) show precloacal pores but lack femoral pores similarly to Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov., but four ( C. caovansungi , C. consobrinus , C. kingsadai and C. ziegleri ) show femoral and precloacal pores separated by a diastema.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Live adult male holotype of Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. at type locality on Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Province. Photo. by J. Meewasana.

FIGURE 2. Preserved type series of Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. in dorsal view. Photo. by O. S. G. Pauwels.

FIGURE 3. Preserved type series of Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. in ventral view. Photo. by O. S. G. Pauwels.

FIGURE 4. Microhabitat of Cyrtodactylus doisuthep sp. nov. (also showing the paratype QSMI 1168) at type locality on Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Province. Photo. by J. Meewasana.

Tables

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

	THNHM 22543 Holotype	CUMZ-R-0.2318 Paratype	QSMI 1168 Paratype
Sex	Male	Female	Female
SVL	85.5	90.5	62.5
ForeaL	14.0	13.9	10.2
TibiaL	16.3	17.1	12.7
TailL	81.5 (last 49.8 regenerated)	107.6	61.6 (last 6.0 regenerated)
TailW	6.2	6.9	5.7
AG	35.1	40.0	27.8
HeadL	25.1	25.8	20.4
HeadW	16.1	16.7	12.0
HeadH	10.2	10.9	7.8
OrbD	6.8	6.7	5.0
OrbEar	6.7	7.2	5.0
SnOrb	9.7	10.1	7.4
NosOrb	7.4	7.4	5.4
Interorb	5.6	4.9	4.0
EarL	1.5	1.7	1.1
Internar	2.6	2.4	2.1
DorTub	20	20	19
PreclP	6	0	0
FemP	0	0	0
Ven	32	29	35
SL	10/11	Damaged/11	12/12
IL	10/8	10/9	11/10
InterorbSc	24	22	30
Discussion