Cnemaspis leucura, Kurita, Takaki, Nishikawa, Kanto, Matsui, Masafumi & Hikida, Tsutomu, 2017

Kurita, Takaki, Nishikawa, Kanto, Matsui, Masafumi & Hikida, Tsutomu, 2017, A new species of Rock Gecko genus Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Western Sarawak, Malaysia, Zootaxa 4258 (6), pp. 525-538 : 528-532

Cnemaspis leucura sp. nov.

Curse Rock Gecko

Holotype ( Figs. 3 and 4 ). Adult male, Sarawak Research Collections, Forest Research Center Sarawak (SRC) 0 0 0 22 collected on 21 February 2012 by T. Hikida from Gunung (= Mt.) Penrissen, Padawan, Kuching District, Sarawak, Malaysia (01°07'21" N, 110°13'43" E, 1035 m a.s.l.) .

Paratypes ( Fig. 4 ). Two adult females (SRC 0 0 0 21, on 19 February 2012; SRC 0 0 329, on 12 March 2013) by K. Nishikawa from the type locality, and three adult males ( KUHE 57421, 57423 , and 57424) and one adult female ( KUHE 57422 ) on 31 August 2016 by T. Kurita from Kampung (= Village) Sadir , Padawan, Kuching District, Sarawak, Malaysia (1°06'25.128" N, 110°16'27.678" E, 180 m a.s.l.) .

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis leucura , a medium sized Cnemaspis , differs from all other Southeast Asian species of Cnemaspis in having a dark-yellow head and a gray trunk with dark-yellow upper flanks in adult males. It differs from all other species of Cnemaspis except C. paripari , C. mumpuniae Grismer et al., 2014 , C. peninsularis Grismer et al., 2014 , and C. roticanai Grismer & Chan, 2010 in having a yellow regenerated tail in adult males, and also differs from the four species in that posterior one-half of original tail in males is white, with black blob dorsally. It differs further from all other species in the unique combination of the following characters: SVL up to 62.7 mm; 10–13 supralabial scales; 9–11 infralabials; 0–2 (mostly 1) internasals; 4–7 postmentals; head, ventral, forearm, tibial, subcaudals, and dorsal tubercles keeled; 24–31 paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions, not linearly arranged; no or a few tubercles on flank; discontinuous rows of 4–9, pore-bearing, precloacal scales with round pores, separated at the midline by 2–4 poreless scales, in adult males; no femoral pores; 3–8 postcloacal tubercles on each side; slightly enlarged, submetatarsal scales beneath first toe; 27–34 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; tubercles present within lateral caudal furrow at least anterior part; ventrolateral, caudal tubercles present anteriorly; an enlarged, smooth, median row of subcaudals; a pair of large, round, black spots in shoulder region; amorphous, pale spots in middorsal trunk; thin, yellow (male) or white (female), transverse markings on flanks; anterior one-half of tail black, with very faint gray bands on dorsal side.

Description of holotype ( Fig. 3 ). Adult male; SVL 59.5 mm; head moderate in size (HL/SVL 0.257), oblong in dorsal profile (HW/HL 0.719), flat (HD/HL 0.444), distinct from neck (NW/HW 0.645); snout short (ES/HL 0.513), concave in lateral profile; postnasal region constricted medially, flat; distinct supraorbital ridges; prominent frontorostral sulcus; canthus rostralis smoothly rounded; nostrils elliptical, oriented dorsoposteriorly; eye large (ED/HL 0.216); eye ball not seen from ventral; pupil round; extra-brillar fringe scales keeled, largest anteriorly; ear opening oval dorsoventrally; scales of rostrum weakly keeled, raised, larger than similarly shaped scales on occiput; rostral high, wide, dorsal 90% divided by longitudinal groove, bordered by first supralabials, two large supranasals, one internasal, and nostrils; nostrils bordered laterally by first and second supralabials and supranasals, and posteriorly by five/six postnasals; 12/13 supralabials, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly; 11/ 11 infralabials, distinctively large in the first, and gradually decreasing in size posteriorly; mental large, triangular, extending to the level of second infralabial, bordered posteriorly by five postmentals; gular scales juxtaposed, slightly keeled, raised, round, gradually increasing in size posteriorly; throat scales larger than gular scales, juxtaposed, keeled, raised, oval.

Body slender, elongate (AG/SVL 0.423); small, weakly keeled or smooth, granular scales equal in size thoughout trunk dorsum, intermixed with sparsely distributed, weakly keeled tubercles more or less randomly arranged; infilling, small, amorphous scales between granular scales and tubercles present; one median long keel and two dorsolateral short keels each side of dorsal tubercle; dorsal tubercles extending from occiput, at level of anterior edges of ear openings, to base of tail; tubercles dense dorsally, decreasing laterally, and absent on lower flanks and ventrum; 26/28 paravertebral tubercles; pectoral scales small, oval, raised, weakly keeled, juxtaposed; abdominal scales stretching longitudinally, arrowhead, strongly raised, keeled, slightly imbricate; precloacal scales oval, raised, keeled, juxtaposed; two series of four/five contiguous, pore-bearing, precloacal scales with round pores arranged in a chevron, separated by three, keeled, poreless scales medially ( Fig. 3 A); precloacal depression absent; no femoral pores; postcloacal scales oval, flattened, keeled, juxtaposed; five/five enlarged, postcloacal tubercles on lateral surfaces of hemipenal swellings at base of tail, anteriormost largest.

Forelimbs long (FL/SVL 0.186), slender, dorsal scales round, slightly raised, keeled, juxtaposed; ventral scales of forearm keeled, juxtaposed; palmar scales round, slightly raised, weakly keeled, slightly enlarged on wrist; digits long with an inflected joint, increasing in length from first to fourth with fifth slightly shorter than fourth; interdigital webbing weak; subdigital lamellae smooth, almost entirely wide, unnotched; lamellae on base of fingers small, similar to palmar scales; lamellae on joint between second and third distal phalanges (base of digit in first finger) distinctively enlarged; finger lamellae from first to fifth digit 18-23-31-32-23/19-25-30-31-24; claws recurved, bordered by a smooth dorsal scale and distalmost subdigital lamella; hindlimbs longer (TBL/SVL 0.234) and thicker than forelimbs; dorsal scales of hindlimbs round, raised, keeled, juxtaposed; ventral scales keeled; dorso-tibial scales round, weakly raised, keeled, juxtaposed; subtibial scales oval, weakly raised, keeled, juxtaposed, larger than dorsal tibials; plantar scales round, raised, smooth or weakly keeled, juxtaposed; slightly enlarged, flattened, smooth, metatarsal scales beneath first metatarsal; digits long with an inflected joint, increasing in length from first to fourth with fifth slightly shorter than fourth; subdigital lamellae smooth, almost entirely wide, unnotched; lamellae on base of toes except first toe small, similar to plantar scales; toe lamellae from first to fifth digit 12-20-29-33 -28/ 12-21-29-32 -28; claws recurved, bordered by a smooth dorsal scale and distalmost lamella.

Tail original, long, segmented; approximately one-fourth portion of tail broken and lost, basal 18 segments remain ( Fig. 3 B); shallow middorsal caudal furrow from first to ninth segments; deep, single, lateral caudal furrow; caudal scales arranged in segmented whorls; dorsocaudal scales round, juxtaposed, weakly raised, weakly keeled; raise and keel stronger on middle of tail than basal or distal portions; ventrolateral caudal scale round, strongly keeled, slightly imbricate, larger and more flattened than dorsal; a single median row of enlarged, smooth, imbricate, subcaudal scales with three or four scales per caudal segment; caudal tubercles subspinous, raised, strongly keeled, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly, arranged on paravertebral, dorsolateral, lateral, and ventrolateral rows; two or three (mainly two) ventrolateral tubercles per caudal segment on basal, one per segment on distal; lateral tubercles present in lateral caudal furrows on basal segments; paravertebral tubercles largest, decreasing in size towards venter; tubercles not encircling tail.

Color in life. Head dark-yellow bearing small, irregularly shaped, black flecks and a faint, discontinuous, black, postorbital stripe; labial gray; iris brownish yellow; ground color of nape, shoulder, and paravertebral regions of trunk gray; upper flanks and lateral portions of caudal base dark-yellow; lower flanks and venter gray; a pale, median, chevron marking on nape, followed by a black, oval spot between forelimb insertion and seven, white, irregularly-shaped, paravertebral markings between forelimb insertion and caudal base; pale, faint, round spot on anterior shoulder, followed by large, black, oval marking and small, white spot; tiny, pale flecks on flanks.

Limbs except digits dark-yellow dorsally, bearing tiny, black flecks; three, yellow, transversely-oval spots on humerus and two on forearm; three, yellow, transversely-oval spots on femur and two on tibia; ventral surface of limbs pale; digits gray bearing a faint, banding pattern.

Anterior one-half (from first to 13th caudal segments) of tail black, bearing very faint, banding pattern dorsally; posterior half of tail white bearing gray blotch on paravertebral region.

Variation. Three male paratypes (KUHE 57421, 57423, 57424) closely approach the holotype in color and pattern, but differ in the brightness of the coloration. In addition the dark yellow on the upper flanks extends to paravertebral region or further to the shoulder region. They have regenerated tails with differing proportions of original tail present. Tails regenerated from base or middle are yellow, bearing black pigment dorsally and laterally, whereas that with distal regeneration is white, with a gray blotch dorsally. Scales from the dorsal to ventrolateral surfaces of regenerated tail are small, keeled, slightly imbricate, and equal in size. Subcaudals are more flattened, smooth, imbricate, and larger than those of the dorsal and lateral surfaces. No or only several subcaudals are enlarged.

Three female paratypes (SRC 0 0 0 21, 0 0 329, KUHE 57422) differ from the the holotype in coloration in that the snout is pale, the occiput and trunk dorsum are brown bearing white and black irregularly shaped spots and scattered yellow scales in high density on the flanks, and limbs that are brown bearing pale and black flecks. A postorbital stripe is distinct. The dorsal side of the original tail of females is brown with eight, saddle-shaped white blotches. Subcaudal coloration is similar to males, but differs in that a single, enlarged, median row of subcaudals is somewhat pale even in the anterior part of tail. A female tail that has regenerated from the tail base is brown with black flecks dorsally. Variations in scalation and other meristic characters are shown in Table 1.

Comparisons. Cnemaspis leucura sp. nov. is differentiated from all other Southeast Asian congeners by males having a dark yellow head and upper flanks, and in that the posterior part of the original tail is white with black dorsal blotches, and yellow with black flecks in the regenerated tail of males. It differs further from all other Cnemaspis except C. paripari , C. biocellata Grismer, Chan, Nurolhuda & Sumontha, 2008 , C. kumpoli Taylor, 1963 , and C. aurantiacopes Grismer & Ngo, 2007 in that adult males and females show marked, sexual dichromatism. In addition to the above characters, Cnemaspis leucura is distinct from the other three Bornean species in the following ways: from C. dringi by having larger maximum SVL (62.7 mm in C. leucura versus 46.4 mm in C. dringi ), fewer postmentals (4–7 versus 10), more precloacal pores (4–9 versus 5–6), caudal tubercles in lateral caudal furrows present in general (versus absent), ventrolateral caudal tubercles present anteriorly (versus absent), and scale row beneath first metatarsus usually enlarged (versus not enlarged); from C. nigridia by having smaller maximum SVL (62.7 mm in C. leucura versus 76.9 mm in C. nigridia ), more finger lamellae from second to fifth digits (e.g., 21–26 versus 18–23 in second finger), fewer precloacal pores (4–9 versus 13–15), caudal tubercles in lateral caudal furrows usually present (versus absent), and narrower postorbital and nape lines; and from C. paripari by having larger maximum SVL (62.7 mm in C. leucura versus 52.9 mm in C. paripari ), fewer postmentals (4–7 versus 5–10), somewhat more finger and toe lamellae except first toe (e.g., 27–34 versus 25–32 in fourth toe), more precloacal pores (4–9 versus 3–5), more postcloacal tubercles (3–8/3–8 versus 1–3/2–3) and ventrolateral caudal tubercles anteriorly present (versus absent).

Etymology. The specific epithet leucura is from the Greek leukos and oura, meaning white-tailed, referring to white subcaudal color on the posterior part of tail in the male holotype. The generic name is feminine in gender.

Distribution. Cnemaspis leucura is known from the montane area of Gunung Penrissen, Kuching District, Sarawak, East Malaysia ( Fig. 1 ).

Natural history. The species was found on the surface of sandstone boulders and outcrops that are scattered on Gunung Penrissen. All individuals were collected on a clear night. The type locality, a huge, single boulder known as Batu Panggah ( Fig. 5 A), is located in primary dipterocarp forest. The boulder is close to a small, shallow stream, and its surface is dry. Two bent-toed geckos, Cyrtodactylus pubisulcus Inger, 1958 and C. consobrinus ( Peters, 1871) , occurred in sympatry. The environment of another locality in Kampung Sadir is characterized by boulder and outcrop surfaces facing waterfalls, surrounded by scattered, primary dipterocarp forests. The surface there was wet from spray from waterfalls ( Figs. 5 B, C). Cnemaspis leucura was exclusively found on the rock surface and, in the case of Kampung Sadir, all individuals of Cnemaspis on tree trunks were C. kendallii . The use of different microhabitats by sympatric species pairs is also known in the case of C. nigridia , which is distributed in the Lundu District, easternmost Sarawak, and appears on the surface of granite boulders, whereas C. kendallii is found on tree trunks or other vegetation around the boulders at night ( Grismer et al. 2014).

Gravid females with two eggs in the oviducts were collected in February and at the end of August. Cnemaspis leucura might reproduce all year round or have a long reproductive season, perhaps due to the stability of annual climate in the area.

In many species of Cnemaspis , including species with white tail like C. paripari , C. kendallii , C. peninsularis , and C. caudanivea , males are known to often curl their tail up over their backs ( Grismer & Ngo 2007; Grismer & Chan 2009; Grismer et al. 2014). On the basis of very limited number of individuals, we did not observe the behavior in C. leucura .

Small beige mites were found in the hollow between the ventral edge of eye fringe and the mouth opening in all three individuals from Batu Panggah. Meanwhile, no external parasites were found on individuals from Kampung Sadir.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Localities of Bornean Cnemaspis examined in this study. Each of five species is represented as follows: Cnemaspis sp., star; C. paripari, triangle; C. nigridia, square; C. kendallii, diamond; and C. dringi, circle (in box).

FIGURE 3. Dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views of holotype (SRC 00022) of Cnemaspis leucura sp. nov. White bar on left of head indicates 10 mm scale. Precloacal – subcaudal region (A) and right sole region (B) are magnified in boxes.

FIGURE 4. Coloration in life of the holotype (A, SRC 00022) and paratypes (B, KUHE 57424; C, KUHE 57423; D, KUHE 57421; E, KUHE 57422; F, SRC 00021) of Cnemaspis leucura sp. nov., with various proportion of regenerated tail (black arrows).

FIGURE 5. The type locality of C. leucura, Batu Panggah in Gunung Penrissen (A), and a second collection site, a small waterfall in Kampung Sadir (B, C). The surface where a gecko was found clinging is magnified (C).