Cyrtodactylus auralensis, Murdoch & Grismer & Wood Jr & Neang & Poyarkov & Tri & Nazarov & Aowphol & Pauwels & Nguyen & Grismer, 2019

Murdoch, Matthew L., Grismer, L. Lee, Wood Jr, Perry L., Neang, Thy, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Tri, Ngo Van, Nazarov, Roman A., Aowphol, Anchalee, Pauwels, Olivier S. G., Nguyen, Hung Ngoc & Grismer, Jesse L., 2019, Six new species of the Cyrtodactylus intermedius complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Cardamom Mountains and associated highlands of Southeast Asia, Zootaxa 4554 (1), pp. 1-62 : 22-27

Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov.

Phnom Aural Bent-toed Gecko

Figs. 10 & 11 , Table 9.

Cyrtodactylus intermedius Swan, & Daltry 2002 : 23 –40; Daltry & Traeholt 2003: 89 –90; Grismer, Chav, Neang, Wood, Grismer, Youmans, Ponce, Daltry, Kaiser 2007: 223.

Holotype. Adult male LSUHC 7399 collected on 6 August 2005 by Neang Thy, L. Lee Grismer, Perry L. Wood, Jr., Jesse L. Grismer, Thou Chav, Timothy M. Youmans, and Armando Ponce from Camp 1, Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia (1201’N, 10408’E; 549 m in elevation).

Paratypes. Adult male LSUHC 7396 , adult females LSUHC 7397–98 and 7410 all bear the same collection data as the holotype. Adult female LSUHC 7346 was collected at the same location as the holotype on 5 August 2005 by the same collectors .

Diagnosis. Adult males reaching 83.5 mm SVL, adult females reaching 84.3 mm SVL; eight or nine supralabials, 9–11 infralabials; 29–32 paravertebral tubercles; 17 or 18 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 37–44 rows of ventral scales; six or seven expanded subdigital lamellae proximal to the digital inflection, 12–15 unmodified, distal, subdigital lamellae; 19–21 total subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; enlarged femoral and precloacal scales continuous; 23–28 enlarged femoral scales; proximal femoral scales less than half the size of distal proximal scales; 7–9 enlarged precloacal scales with pores on each in males; two or three rows of enlarged post-precloacal scales; three postcloacal tubercles; no pocketing present between digits of hind or forefeet; dark pigmented blotches present on top of head; posterior border of nuchal loop rounded, not chevron-shaped; four or five dark body bands ( Table 9). These characters are scored across all species of the Cyrtodactylus intermedius complex in Table 7.

Description of holotype. Adult male SVL 75.9 mm; head moderate in length (HL/SVL 0.29) and width (HW/ HL 0.66), somewhat flattened (HD/HL 0.36), distinct from neck, and triangular in dorsal profile; lores concave anteriorly, weakly inflated posteriorly, prefrontal region deeply concave, canthus rostralis rounded; snout elongate (ES/HL 0.38), rounded in dorsal profile; eye large (ED/HL 0.24); ear opening elliptical, obliquely oriented, moderate in size (EL/HL 0.10); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye; rostral rectangular, partially divided dorsally by inverted Y-shaped furrow, bordered posteriorly by large left and right supranasals and three smaller internasals, bordered laterally by first supralabials; external nares bordered anteriorly by rostral, dorsally by large supranasal, posteriorly by three moderately sized postnasals, bordered ventrally by first supralabial; 8(R,L) rectangular supralabials extending to below midpoint of eye, second supralabial slightly larger than first; 10(R,L) infralabials tapering smoothly to below and slightly past the termination of enlarged supralabials; scales of rostrum and lores flat to slightly raised, larger than granular scales on top of head and occiput; scales of occiput intermixed with distinct, enlarged tubercles; dorsal superciliaries not elongate or keeled; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabials and posteriorly by large left and right trapezoidal postmentals which contact medially for 50% of their length posterior to mental; one row of slightly enlarged, elongate sublabials extending posteriorly to seventh infralabial; gular and throat scales small, granular, grading posteriorly into slightly larger, flatter, smooth, imbricate, pectoral and ventral scales.

Body relatively short (AG/SVL 0.46) with poorly defined ventrolateral folds; dorsal scales small, granular interspersed with relatively large, conical, semi-regularly arranged, weakly keeled tubercles; tubercles extend from occiput onto original portion of tail; similarly sized and spaced tubercles continue onto nape of the neck and occiput but diminish in size and distinction on top of head; approximately 17 longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody between ventrolateral, body folds; 31 paravertebral tubercles; 42 flat, imbricate, ventral scales between ventrolateral body folds, ventral scales much larger than dorsal scales; eight large, pore-bearing, precloacal scales; no deep precloacal groove or depression; and three rows of post-precloacal scales.

Forelimbs moderate in stature, relatively short (FL/SVL 0.16); granular scales of forearm larger than those on body, interspersed with large, conical tubercles; palmar scales rounded, slightly raised; interdigital pocketing absent between digits of the forefeet; digits well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; digits slightly more narrow distal to inflections; subdigital lamellae transversely expanded proximal to joint inflections, more granular distal to inflection; claws well-developed, claw base sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; hind limbs more robust than forelimbs, moderate in length (TBL/SVL 0.19), covered dorsally by granular scales interspersed with large, conical tubercles and anteriorly by flat, slightly larger scales; ventral scales of thigh flat, imbricate, larger than dorsals; ventral tibial scales flat, imbricate; one row of 13(R,L) enlarged femoral scales in contact with enlarged precloacal scales, terminate just before the inflection of the knee; femoral pores absent; proximal femoral scales one fourth the size of those distally and form abrupt union with smaller, rounded, ventral scales of posteroventral margin of thigh; subtibial scales flat, imbricate; plantar scales flat; interdigital pocketing absent between digits of the hind feet; digits relatively long, well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; 7(R,L) transversely expanded subdigital lamellae on fourth toe proximal to joint inflection extends onto the sole; 14(R,L) unmodified lamellae distal to inflection; 21(R,L) total subdigital lamellae; and claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale at base.

Tail 73.9 mm in length, first 6.8 mm original, last 67.1 mm regenerated, 6.4 mm in width at base, tapering to a point; dorsal scales of original portion of tail flat, square; regenerated portion of tail covered with small, smooth rectangular scales dorsally; median row of transversely expanded subcaudal scales, significantly larger than dorsal caudal scales; caudal tubercles present on original portion; base of tail bearing hemipenal swellings; three postcloacal tubercles on either side of base of hemipenal swellings; and postcloacal scales flat, imbricate.

Coloration in alcohol. Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs, and tail brown; dark-brown blotches on top of head; dark-brown nuchal loop with rounded posterior border extends from posterior margin of one eye to posterior margin of other eye; nuchal loop edged with thin, light, lines; five similarly colored dorsal bands lacking lightened centers occur between limb insertions, first band terminates at shoulders, second, third and fourth bands terminate dorsal to ventrolateral fold, fifth band terminates at anterior margin of hind limb insertions; light edging on body bands generally restricted to the tubercles giving edging a spotted appearance; body band/interspace ratio 1.25; one additional dark-brown band posterior to hind limbs; regenerated tail a uniform brown color ( Fig. 10 ).

Variation. The paratypes closely approach the holotype in preserved coloration ( Fig. 10 ). All paratypes have four dorsal bands instead of five. LSUHC 7397 has a darker overall color pattern. LSUHC 7396–97 and LSUHC 7410 have light tubercles bordering the dark blotches on the top of their heads. LSUHC 7397 third dorsal band bifurcates just dorsal to the ventrolateral fold. Coloration in life shows light edging of dark dorsal bands and tubercles yellow ( Fig. 11 ). Tubercles bordering dark dorsal bands and on dorsal margin of thigh yellow. Coloration of hatchlings much lighter than that of adults ( Fig. 11 ). Meristic differences in the type series and additional specimens examined are presented in Table 9.

Additional specimens examined. Four additional specimens from the type locality were examined ( Table 9). In addition, a juvenile female LSUHC 7459 was collected on 8 August 2005 at Camp 2, Phnom Aural, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia (1201’N, 10409’E; 1121 m in elevation) by the same collectors.

Distribution. Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. is known only from Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary and associated Mountainous areas nearby, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia.

Etymology. The specific epithet, auralensis , is a noun in apposition in reference to the type locality of Phnom Aural mountain, the highest mountain in Cambodia, to which it presumably endemic.

Natural history. Grismer et al. (2007a) reported that all specimens were collected at night in microhabitats ranging from rocks along the edges of streams, tree trunks, up to 2 m above the ground in vegetation, to leaf litter ( Fig. 11 ). However, lizards were more common in areas where rocks were present. This is in accord with the observations made by Stuart and Emmett (2006) with populations C. cardamomensis sp. nov. (see description below) from the central Cardamoms. Grismer et al. (2007a) noted that C. auralensis sp. nov. was far more abundant in hill evergreen forests at elevations between 500–600 m than at elevations above 1100 m in the cooler, damper cloud forests.

Comparisons. Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. is a member of the western group and the sister species to a lineage containing the remaining species of that group C. intermedius Thai clade [ C. thylacodactylus sp. nov. [ C. intermedius complex incertae sedis 1 [ C. cardamomensis sp. nov.]]] from which it is separated by 7.1%–9.0% sequence divergence ( Table 4). The PCA shows Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. is separated in morphospace along PC1 and PC2 from all other members of the C. intermedius complex with the exception of C. cardamomensis sp. nov. with which there is slight overlap ( Fig. 6 ). The DAPC analysis shows the 95% confidence intervals of Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. as distinct from C. thylacodactylus sp. nov., C. laangensis sp. nov. and C. bokorensis sp. nov., overlapping slightly with C. intermedius and C. phuquocensis and grouping closely with C. septimontium sp. nov. and C. cardamomensis sp. nov. ( Fig. 7 ). Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. is welldifferentiated from all other members of the C. intermedius complex, with the exception of C. intermedius , by having varying combinations of statistically different mean values of supralabial and infralabial scales; paravertebral tubercles; longitudinal rows of tubercles; ventral scales; unmodified, expanded, and total number of subdigital lamellae; enlarged femoral scales, precloacal scales, and postcloacal tubercles ( Table 6). It differs further from all other members of the complex in having the consistent presence of distinct pigmented blotches on top of the head, although some individuals of C. bokorensis sp. nov., and C. laangensis sp. nov. have blotches but they are not consistently present. Rounded posterior border of the nuchal loop separates C. auralensis sp. nov. from C. bokorensis sp. nov. Continuous contact between precloacal and femoral scales differentiates it from C. laangensis sp. nov. and some individuals of C. bokorensis sp. nov. in which contact is variable. Proximal femoral scales being less than one-half the size of the distal femorals differentiates it from C. cardamomensis sp. nov. and C. thylacodactylus sp. nov. Lack of interdigital pocketing separates it from C. thylacodactylus sp. nov. ( Table 7).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the species of the Cyrtodactylus intermedius complex showing ordination along the first two principal components.

FIGURE 7. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) of the species of the Cyrtodactylus intermedius complex emphasizing between-group variance and minimizing within-group variance based on retention of the first eight components. Circles represent 95% confidence intervals.

FIGURE 10. Type series and additional specimens examined of Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. Upper: Type series from left to right: holotype LSUHC 7399, paratypes LSUHC 7346, 7396-98, 7410. Lower: additional specimens examined.

FIGURE 11. Cyrtodactylus auralensis sp. nov. Upper left: LSUDPC 1180; adult female. Upper right: forested microhabitat from the slopes of Phnom Aural at camp II. Lower right: forested microhabitat from the slopes of Phnom Aural at camp I. Bottom right: LSUDPC 1178 hatchling. All photos by L. Grismer.