Goniurosaurus chengzheng Zhu, Li & He, 2021

Zhu, Xiao-Yu, Liu, Yi-Jiao, Bai, Yun, Román-Palacios, Cristian, Li, Zheng & He, Zhu-Qing, 2021, Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov., a new species of Leopard Gecko from Guangxi China (Squamata: Eublepharidae), Zootaxa 4996 (3), pp. 555-568 : 561-563

Goniurosaurus chengzheng Zhu, Li & He sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 3 )

Holotype. Adult male ( ECNU-V0090 ), from central Guangxi, China, 100-250 m in altitude. Exact locality withheld because of conservation concerns, available to qualified researchers upon request. Collected during July 2018 by Zhu Xiao-Yu.

Paratypes. Subadult male ( ECNU-V0068 ), same data as holotype .

Diagnosis. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. differs from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: SE shorter than EE ( Table 3 ); one nuchal loop, four body bands; number of precloacal pores 20; body color reddish brown in life ( Table 4 ).

Description. Holotype. ECNU-V0090, adult male; SVL: 107.08 mm; TaL (regenerated): 62.15 mm; AG: 46.95 mm; SE 11.53 mm; EE: 11.70 mm; HW: 20.57 mm; HL: 29.12 mm; SVL: AG 2.28; SVL: HL: 3.68; HL: HW 1.42; SE: EE: 0.99; head triangular, wider than neck, covered with uniform granular scales interspersed with tubercles on top of head; conspicuous row of enlarged supraorbital tubercles; external nares bordered by 8/8 nasals, anteriorly by prenasal, dorsolaterally by supranasal and two granular scales, dorsally by one internasal, posteriorly by four smaller granular scales; prenasals with long recurved ventral portion; supranasals in contact at the midline; separated by one internasal ( Fig. 3B ); supralabials 9/8, rectangular; eyes relatively large, pupils vertical; eyelid fringe scales 53/56; a fold of skin originating in suborbital region extends posteroventrally across angle of jaw; external auditory meatus elliptical with long axis directed dorsoventrally; tympanum deeply recessed, bordered anteriorly by two spinose scales; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabial and posteriorly by three postmentals; postmentals collectively bordered by six gular scales ( Fig. 3C ); infralabials rectangular 10/9. Neck narrower than body, covered with uniform granular scales interspersed with conical tubercles on nape; dorsal body tubercles surrounded by 11–13 smooth granular scales; 21 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles at midbody; 29 paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions, distinct vertebral row of scales absent. Body relatively thin, covered with granular scales grading ventrally into larger flattened subimbricate ventral scales; 119–137 scales around midbody; larger ventral scales grade abruptly into smaller granular scales immediately anterior to vent; 20 pore-bearing precloacal scales in a continuous transverse series extending onto proximal regions of thighs ( Fig. 3D ); one enlarged postcloacal tubercle laterally on each side at level of vent. Limbs covered dorsally with granular scales interspersed with closely spaced tubercles and ventrally with flat, subimbricate scales; hind limbs more robust and longer than forelimbs; deep axillary pockets present; subdigital lamellae wide, 8/8 on first finger, 17/16 on fourth finger, 11/11 on first toe, 23/23 on fourth toe. Tail regenerated and gradually narrowing to the tip.

Coloration. Dorsal ground color of head, body, and limbs reddish brown, bearing irregularly shaped small black blotches, black blotches on head; iris yellow; nuchal loop reddish brown, posterior margin rounded, not pointed; longitudinal black lines between nuchal loop and the first body band; three body bands between limb insertions, one postsacral band on tail base; all bands are reddish brown; ventral surfaces of head, body, and limbs dull white.

Variation. Measurements and scalation data of the type series are provided in Table 5 . The paratype (a subadult) largely matches the overall scalation and coloration characters of the holotype, however, it has two internasals and three PostIn.

Comparisons. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. is most similar to G. gezhi , but has a proportionally smaller snout (SE:EE; see Table 3 ), and differs in having reddish-brown body color (versus orange or yellow). It also differs from G. lichtenfelderi by having three body bands (versus four body bands). It differs from G. luii , G. huuliensis , G. kadoorieorum , G. kwangsiensis , and G. liboensis by having 20 precloacal pores as opposed to 23-33 ( Table 3 ). It differs from G. araneus by having no blotches on the body (versus black blotches).

Distribution and Life History. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. is only known from central Guangxi, China at 100-250 m elevation. The known distributions of G. chengzheng sp. nov. and G. gezhi are not overlapping and are separated by the Zuo River. Specimens of the new species were found on limestone and soil slopes near a swallet at night. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. was found to co-occur with Moellendorf’s Rat Snake ( Elaphe moellendorffi Boettger ) and a terrestrial crab ( Tiwaripotamon sp. ) in the limestone area.

Etymology. The specific epithet chengzheng is from the Chinese phonetic alphabet Ẅ正, which was noted in the ancient work of Chinese literature Daxue around 2000 years ago. It means having true ideas to put one’s mind in a proper and well-ordered condition. The word chengzheng is often used in parallel with gezhi. Given this new species is sister to G. gezhi in our molecular phylogeny, we use chengzheng for the specific epithet. For the common name, we suggest “Chengzheng Cave Gecko, Ẅ正ḃm ”.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. from Guangxi, China. A. Adult female (photographed in 2017, but not collected); B. Scalation and coloration characters of the head of the holotype; C. Adult male, holotype. (photos by Zhu Xiao-Yu)

FIGURE 3. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. A. Dorsal view of holotype, ECNU-V0090 (left) and paratype, ECNU-V0068 (right); B. Ventral view of the chin, holotype; C. Dorsal view of the snout tip, holotype; D. Precloacal region, with the precloacal pores numbered.