Three new karst-dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata; Gekkoniade) from Peninsular Thailand and the phylogenetic placement of C.punctatonuchalis and C.vandeventeri.

Perry Lee Wood,Anchalee Aowphol,César A Aguilar,Marta S Grismer,Jack W Sites,Matthew L Murdoch,L Lee Grismer,Micheal Cota

doi:10.7717/peerj.2884

Perry Lee Wood, Anchalee Aowphol + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2884

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Abstract

Three new species of Rock Geckos Cnemaspis lineogularis sp. nov., C. phangngaensis sp. nov., and C. thachanaensis sp. nov. of the chanthaburiensis and siamensis groups are described from the Thai portion of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. These new species are distinguished from all other species in their two respective groups based on a unique combination of morphological characteristics, which is further supported by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene (ND2). Cnemaspis lineogularis sp. nov. is differentiated from all other species in the chanthaburiensis group by having a smaller maximum SVL 38 mm, 13 paravertebral tubercles, enlarged femoral scales, no caudal bands, and a 19.5–23.0% pairwise sequence divergence (ND2). Cnemaspis phangngaensis sp. nov. is differentiated from all other species in the siamensis group by having the unique combination of 10 infralabial scales, four continuous pore-bearing precloacal scales, paravertebral tubercles linearly arranged, lacking tubercles on the lower flanks, having ventrolateral caudal tubercles anteriorly present, caudal tubercles restricted to a single paraveterbral row on each side, a single median row of keeled subcaudals, and a 8.8–25.2% pairwise sequence divergence (ND2). Cnemaspis thachanaensis sp. nov. is distinguished from all other species in the siamensis group by having 10 or 11 supralabial scales 9–11 infralabial scales, paravertebral tubercles linearly arranged, ventrolateral caudal tubercles anteriorly, caudal tubercles restricted to a single paravertebral row on each side, a single median row of keeled subcaudal scales, lacking a single enlarged subcaudal scale row, lacking postcloaclal tubercles in males, the presence of an enlarged submetatarsal scale at the base if the 1st toe, and a 13.4–28.8% pairwise sequence divergence (ND2). The new phylogenetic analyses place C. punctatonuchalis and C. vandeventeri in the siamensis group with C. punctatonuchalis as the sister species to C. huaseesom and C. vandeventeri as the sister species to C. siamensis, corroborating previous hypotheses based on morphology. The discovery of three new karst-dwelling endemics brings the total number of nominal Thai Cnemaspis species to 15 and underscores the need for continued field research in poorly known areas of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, especially those that are threatened and often overlooked as biodiversity hot spots.

Highlights

The Thai-Malay Peninsula is a long (1,127 km) and narrow appendix of mainland Asia extending from Indochina in the north to its southern terminus in Singapore
The electronic version of this article in Portable Document Format (PDF) will represent a published work according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and the new names contained in the electronic version are effectively published under that Code from the electronic edition alone
Phylogenetic analyses of the three new populations sampled from Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phangnga, and Tha Chana represent well-supported independent lineages (100 bootstrap support values (BS), 1.0 posterior probabilities (PP); 100 BS, 1.0 PP; 100 BS, 1.0 PP, respectively)

Summary

Introduction

The Thai-Malay Peninsula is a long (1,127 km) and narrow (maximum width 322 km) appendix of mainland Asia extending from Indochina in the north to its southern terminus in Singapore. The Thai-Malay Peninsula is comprised of the southern portion of Myanmar, the southwestern section of Thailand, West Malaysia, and Singapore. This region is both geologically and climatically complex and has been influenced by a number of factors. The environmental complexity of this region has helped to form two prominent biogeographic barriers, the Isthmus of Kra and the Kangar-pattani line These biogeographic barriers serve as pivotal crossroads for faunal exchange between the Indochinese and Sundaic biota (e.g., Raes et al, 2014; De Bruyn et al, 2013; Parnell, 2013; Patou et al, 2009; Woodruff & Turner, 2009; Gorog, Sinaga & Engstrom, 2004; Pauwels et al, 2003; Hughes, Round & Woodruff, 2003; Woodruff, 2003; Grismer et al, 2014d; Grismer, 2011).

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