A new karst-dwelling bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Xiangkhoang Province, northeastern Laos

Zool Res. 2018 May 18;39(3):202-219. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2018.010. Epub 2018 Apr 20.

Abstract

We describe a new karst-dwelling Cyrtodactylus from Ban Thathom, Xiangkhoang Province, northeastern Laos. The new species can be distinguished from other congeners by having four dark dorsal bands between limb insertions, a discontinuous nuchal loop, 10 precloacal pores in males or 10-12 precloacal pits (females) separated by a diastema from a series of enlarged femoral scales bearing 18 or 19 pores (male) or 8-10 pits (females) along each femur, 14-18 dorsal tubercle rows at midbody, no precloacal groove, 30-36 midbody scale rows across belly between ventrolateral skin folds, transversely enlarged subcaudal plates, and a maximal known snout-vent length of 75.5 mm. Our description brings to 22 the number of Cyrtodactylus species recorded from Laos.

Keywords: Herpetology; Indochinese region; Karst; Limestone; New species; Taxonomy.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ecosystem
  • Female
  • Laos
  • Lizards / anatomy & histology*
  • Lizards / classification
  • Male

Associated data

  • GENBANK/MG791873-MG791875

Grants and funding

The work was partially supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (RFBR 15-04-08393; RFBR 15-29-02771; RFBR 17-54-54002_viet_a; RFBR 18-04-00040); Preservation and storage of specimens was carried out with financial support from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF 14-50-00029). The research was completed within the frameworks of Russian State projects AAAA-A16116021660077-3 and AAAA-A17-117030310017-8