Cyrtopodion kiabii, Ahmadzadeh, Faraham, Flecks, Morris, Torki, Farhang & Böhme, Wolfgang, 2011

Ahmadzadeh, Faraham, Flecks, Morris, Torki, Farhang & Böhme, Wolfgang, 2011, A new species of angular-toed gecko, genus Cyrtopodion (Squamata: Gekkonidae), from southern Iran, Zootaxa 2924, pp. 22-32 : 23-28

Cyrtopodion kiabii sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 to 5)

Holotype. ZFMK 91834 (field no. 138), adult male, collected 4.5 km SW of Nayband village at a distance of approx. 300 m to coast of Persian Gulf, 27°21’9.5’’ N, 52°37’56.5’’ E, 108 m above sea level, Bushehr Province, southern Iran, on 14 July 2007 by F. Ahmadzadeh.

Paratypes. ZFMK 91835 (field no. 190), adult female, same locality and collection data as the holotype; ZFMK 91836, adult male, same locality as the holotype, collected on 30 June 2010 by F. Ahmadzadeh.

Other specimens. FA 1001, adult male, same locality as the holotype, collected on 30 June 2010 by F. Ahmadzadeh.

Diagnosis. A small and slender Cyrtopodion species of the agamuroides -group with angular-shaped toes and a maximal snout-vent length of 46.9 mm. Limbs are very long and thin, so that knee and elbow—at least in malesmeet when pressed alongside the straightened body. The head width is less than two thirds of the head length and the neck is about half as wide as the head, underlining the overall appearance, which is even more delicate than in the other species of the agamuroides -group. The eyes are large in relation to the short snout, which is barely longer than the diameter of the orbit (fig. 2). Due to the swollen nasals, the nostrils seem to be mounted. Postmentals are distinctly larger than the posterior gular scales, whereas Agamura has small, indistinguishable postmentals. The anterior pair of postmentals may be in contact or separated from each other by a diminutive median scale (fig. 2). Ventrals are large, with ten to twelve scales transversely across midbody (fig. 3), which is less in number than in the related species (14 to 18 in C. gastropholis , 22 to 28 in C. golubevi , 28 to 32 in C. persepolense , and 28 to 38 in C. agamuroides ). Longitudinally, there are 98 to 104 scales between the mental and the vent, which is at the upper end of the variation observed within C. gastropholis and less than in the remaining species. Subdigital lamellae are not tuberculous as in Bunopus . Numbers under the fourth finger and fourth toe range from 22 to 24 and 25 to 28, respectively. Males possess four active preanal pores (fig. 4), separating the species from C. agamuroides which has only two. The subfemoral scales are larger than the surrounding scales, but no femoral pores or femoral tubercles are developed, distinguishing it from all members of the subgenus Tenuidactylus . Dorsal tubercles are roundish and equal to or larger than interspaces (versus trihedral and smaller than interspaces in the subgenus Cyrtopodion ) and arranged in nine rows along the back. The tail is whorled and distinct caudal tubercles are present, both characters further discriminating this species from Agamura . The tubercles form the terminal row of each whorl opposed to being located in the middle of each whorl as in Mediodactylus . The subcaudal scalation is homogenous, a character practicable to distinguish all members of the agamuroides -group from the otherwise similar C. kirmanense which has a heterogeneous scalation under the tail. Subcaudals are arranged in a single row of transversely enlarged scales, as in C. gastropholis and C. golubevi , whereas, in C. persepolense the enlarged subcaudals are bifurcated and form a double row. In contrast, C. agamuroides does not have distinctly enlarged subcaudals. A comparison of the diagnostic characters of the agamuroides -group is shown in table 1.

explained in the text. Values given (except for the categorical characters) are mean value, standard deviation and range. Values

for C. golubevi , C. persepolense and C. agamuroides were calculated using the data presented by Nazarov et al. (2009). Description of holotype. Snout-vent length 46.9 mm, tail length 46.3 mm with the distal 26 mm regenerated. Forelimbs (measured from shoulder to carpus) are approximately half as long as the distance between snout and vent and hindlimbs (measured from pelvic hinge to carpus) are two thirds of the snout-vent length. The head is 1.6 times longer than wide and twice as wide as the neck. The orbit is nearly as large as the snout length. The nostril is pierced just above the suture of the rostral and first labial, contacting both and further surrounded by three smaller nasals. These scales around the nostril appear to be swollen. The rostral is large and has a long median groove from its posterior end to nearly the tip of the snout. Three internasals are bordering posteriorly with the median one being slightly embedded into the rostral groove. Numbers of supralabials total eleven and twelve on left and right side, respectively; ten infralabials on each side. The mental shield is large and triangular to pentagonal, followed posteriorly by three pairs of large postmentals, with the median pair divided from each other by a diminutive scale. There are twelve ventrals transversely across midbody and 104 ventrals in a longitudinal median row between mental and cloaca. 22 subdigital lamellae under the fourth finger and 26 under the fourth toe. The obviously adult male specimen has four active preanal pores within very large scales, no femoral pores are present, but subfemoral scales are enlarged. The scales directly behind the preanal pores are also larger than other surrounding scales. Two postcloacal tubercles are located on each side of the base of the tail. Nine rows of dorsal tubercles run across the middle of the back. These tubercles are roundish and often slightly keeled. The distance between tubercles is equal to or larger than the size of the tubercles. The surface of the femur is also marked with round tubercles. Original tail with one row of plate-like, transversely enlarged subcaudal scales, two of these per whorl. The dorsal and lateral tail scalation is heterogeneous, small granular scales are mixed with larger, trihedral tubercles, the latter arranged in rows consisting of six tubercles around the tail. The tubercles located in the terminal row of each whorl are the most prominent.

The dorsal colouration consists of a light, sandy brown ground with darker blotches on the back, which are arranged in seven bands between neck and groin; limbs and original part of the tail with brown crossbars, which are much more distinct in the latter. The ventral side is uniformly whitish coloured.

Variation. All paratypes and the additional specimen are generally similar to the holotype concerning morphometrics, pholidosis and colouration. Notable variation of scale characters includes the internasals, which are only two in number in all of these specimens in contrast to three in the holotype. The arrangement of the internasals is not symmetrical, but rather one of the two scales is slightly enlarged and projecting into the rostral as does the third, median internasal of the holotype. In ZFMK 91836 and FA 1001, the median pair of postmentals is bordering each other and not divided by a diminutive scale. Ventrals are even less in the paratypes than in the holotype, ranging from ten to eleven when counted transversely and from 98 to 102 when counted longitudinally. The female paratype ZFMK 91835 differs in some morphometric characters: the head is relatively shorter and the neck relatively wider than in the male types. Furthermore, the legs are slightly shorter (fig. 5). Complete measurements of all specimens are presented in table 2.

Distribution. So far, the species is only known from the type locality.

Etymology. We name this new species in honour of Dr. Bahram Hassanzadeh Kiabi (Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran, Iran) to appreciate his indefatigable work as an ecologist who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Persian wildlife.

Ecological notes. The collected specimens were found in two abandoned buildings, situated in a cliffy, but not mountainous area approximately 100 m from the coast of the Persian Gulf (fig. 6). Activity was only observed during night and we assume this species to be strictly nocturnal as Cyrtopodion species are in general. Sympatric lizard and snake species comprise Hemidactylus flaviviridis , Hemidactylus persicus , Pristurus rupestris , Asaccus sp., Laudakia nupta , and Echis carinatus .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cyrtopodion kiabii sp. nov. in life.