Integrative taxonomy of the rock-dwelling gecko Cnemaspis siamensis complex (Squamata, Gekkonidae) reveals a new species from Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, southern Thailand.

Natee Ampai,Perry L Wood Jr,Bryan L Stuart,Anchalee Aowphol

doi:10.3897/zookeys.932.50602

Abstract

The rock-dwelling gecko genus Cnemaspis is one of the most species-diverse genera of gekkonid in Thailand. Earlier studies relied on morphological data to identify species, but cryptic morphology often obscured species diversity in Cnemaspis. In this study, an integrative taxonomic approach based on morphological characters and sequences of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) gene were used to clarify current taxonomy of the Cnemaspis siamensis complex and delimit a new species from Lan Saka District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, southern Thailand. Cnemaspis lineatubercularissp. nov. is distinguished from other congeneric species by the combination of morphological characters: (1) maximum snout-vent length (SVL) of 40.6 mm (mean 38.8 ± SD 1.4, N = 12) in adult males and maximum SVL of 41.8 mm (mean 39.5 ± SD 1.9, N = 7) in adult females; (2) 8–9 supralabial and infralabial scales; (3) gular, pectoral, abdominal, and subcaudal scales keeled; (4) rostral, interorbitals, supercilium, palmar scales, and ventral scales of brachia smooth; (5) 5–6 small, subconical spine-like tubercles present on flanks; (6) 19–21 paravertebral tubercles linearly arranged; (7) 27–29 subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe; (8) 4–7 pore-bearing precloacal scales, pores rounded arranged in chevron shape and separated only in males; (9) one postcloacal tubercles each side in males; (10) ventrolateral caudal tubercles present anteriorly; (11) caudal tubercles restricted to a single paravertebral row on each side; (12) single median row of subcaudal scales keeled and lacking enlarged median row; and (13) gular region, abdomen, limbs and subcaudal region yellowish only in males. Genetically, the uncorrected pairwise divergences between the new species and their congeners in the C. siamensis group were between 15.53–28.09%. The new species is currently known only from granitic rocky streams at Wang Mai Pak Waterfall in the Nakhon Si Thammarat mountain range. Its discovery suggests that additional unrecognized species of Cnemaspis may still occur in unexplored areas of southern Thailand.

Highlights

The rock-dwelling gecko genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 is one of the most speciose genera in the family Gekkonidae
The findings of this study provide new data from a poorly studied area in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, southern Thailand
The results suggest that additional unexplored regions may still harbor unrecognized species of Cnemaspis in Thailand

Summary

Introduction

The rock-dwelling gecko genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 is one of the most speciose genera in the family Gekkonidae. Southeast Asian Cnemaspis is a monophyletic group (Gamble et al 2012; Pyron et al 2013) that contains 59 species distributed from Laos, southern Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, southward through the Thai-Malay Peninsula to Borneo, Java, and Sumatra (Bauer and Das 1998; Das 2005; Bauer et al 2007; Grismer and Ngo 2007; Grismer et al 2009, 2014; Grismer and Chan 2010; Kurita et al 2017; Riyanto et al 2017; Uetz et al 2019). Based on the combination of morphological characters and molecular data, Grismer et al (2014) indicated that Cnemaspis species from Thailand belong to four species groups, consisting of the affinis group, the chanthaburiensis group, the kumpoli group (= Pattani clade of Grismer et al 2014) and the siamensis group

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Conclusion