Cnemaspis sirehensis, Nashriq & Davis & Bauer & Das, 2022

Nashriq, Izneil, Davis, Hayden R., Bauer, Aaron M. & Das, Indraneil, 2022, Three New Species of Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Sarawak, East Malaysia, Borneo, Zootaxa 5120 (1), pp. 1-29 : 15-22

Cnemaspis sirehensis sp. nov.

Blue Day Gecko; Cicak Gua Sireh

Fig. 8 , Fig. 9 , Table 3

Holotype. Adult female, UNIMAS 9609 , collected by Hayden Davis and Izneil Nashriq, on 2 June 2018, from Gua Sireh (1.180407°N, 110.463391°E; 50 m), Gunung Nambi , Kampung Bantang , Serian District, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo).

Paratype. Adult female, UNIMAS 9610 , collected by Hayden Davis and Izneil Nashriq, on 2 June 2018, and UNIMAS 9715 , collected by Izneil Nashriq, Wong Jye Wen and Indraneil Das, from Gua Sireh (1.180407°N, 110.463391°E, 50 m), Gunung Nambi , Kampung Bantang , Serian District, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo) .

Diagnosis. SVL up to 49 mm; 12–13 supralabials; 10–12 infralabials; 3 internasals; 6–7 postmentals; subtibial scales keeled; ventrolateral caudal tubercles absent; paravertebral and lateral row of caudal tubercles present; caudal tubercles not encircling tail; subcaudals keeled, bearing an enlarged median row of weakly keeled scales; 1–2/1–2 (L/R) postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base; no enlarged femoral or subtibial scales; submetatarsal scales of first toe enlarged; 26–30 fourth toe subdigital lamellae.

Description of holotype. Adult female with original tail, dark banded. Snout-vent length 47 mm; supralabials 12/12 (L/R); infralabials 10/10 (L/R); head oblong, short (HL/SVL 0.30), narrow (HW/SVL 0.18), depressed (HD/HL 0.36), distinct from neck; snout moderately long (ES/HW 0.69), longer than eye diameter (ED/ES 0.54); scales on snout and forehead weakly keeled, with posterior portion of each scale raise; scales on snout larger than those on occipital region; eye small (ED/HL 0.22); orbits of eyes with extra-brillar fringes; pupil round; enlarged supraciliaries on top half of orbit; tympanum deep, oval shaped, greatest diameter vertically, narrow (EL/HL 0.09); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eyes (EE/ED 1.19); rostral half as deep as wide, contacted posteriorly by 2 nasals and 3 internasals, rostrals is in contact with supralabial I. Nostrils oval, situated within nasals, and oriented dorsally; nostrils are in narrow contact with supralabial I. 5 postnasals bound nasal; mental large, subtriangular, much deeper than wide, 7 postmentals border mental; chin scales meet infralabials.

Body slender, short (AG/SVL 0.43); ventral scales equal in size from chin region to gular; increase in size from gular to pectoral and abdominal regions, weakly keeled. Dorsal scales increase in size from head to nape and subequal throughout trunk. Scales on dorsum at midbody approximately equal to those of venter at same level; vertebral scales not reduced; paravertebral rows of tubercles on dorsum present; dorsal tubercles extend from occiput to base of tail; tubercles dense dorsally and absent on lower flanks; pectoral and abdominal scales distinctly elongated, imbricate and unicarinate; no femoral pores and preanal groove.

Forelimbs moderately long, slender, shorter than hindlimbs (FL/SVL 0.20, TBL/SVL 0.23). Dorsal scales on forelimbs, raised, unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly; ventral scales of forelimbs slightly raised, slightly unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly. Dorsal scales of hindlimbs raised, unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly; ventral scales of hindlimbs slightly raised, slightly unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly. Palmar and plantar scales smooth, granular, raised. Digits elongate, all bearing claws that are slightly recurved; subdigital scansors entire, except for 1–2 fragmented at base of digits, unnotched; an enlarge scansor towards base of digits, which is over twice width of other scansors; interdigital webbing absent. Subdigital lamellae (manus) I (13); II (19); III (21); IV (24); V (18); (pes) I (10); II (17); III (23); IV (26); V (23).

Original tail, longer than snout-vent length (TL/SVL 1.22); tail base distinctly swollen; tail arranged in segmented whorls; caudal tubercles subspinous, raised, weakly keeled, arranged on paravertebral and lateral row; tubercles do not encircle tail; 2/1 (L/R) postcloacal tubercles; tail with a distinct pair of furrows laterally; a single median row of enlarged, weakly keeled, imbricate, subcaudal scales with 3 or 4 scales per segment.

Variation in paratypes. A total of two adult females ( UNIMAS 9610 and 9715) indistinguishable from holotype apart from aspects of scale morphology and colouration; 12–13 supralabials; 11–12 infralabials; 6–7 postmentals. They have yellow regenerated tail. Scales from dorsal to ventral surface of regenerated tail are small, keeled, slightly imbricate, and equal in size.

Colouration in life. Dorsal ground colour of head, body and limbs Raw Umber; head Trogon Yellow, bearing small, occipital flecks; nape and shoulder region bearing Dusky Brown patches of irregularly shaped, dark blotches; Pratt's Payne's Gray patches on paravertebral; small, scattered, Spectrum Yellow flecks between limb insertion; irregular Citrine bands on forelimbs and hind limbs; Tail with Brownish Olive and Sulfur Yellow banding from tail base to tip; and Trogon Yellow regenerated tail.

Natural History. The species is nocturnal, with individuals being collected between 2000–2200 hrs from limestone escarpments surfaces, within narrow rock crevices, outside the entrance of Gua Sireh, in Serian. No individuals were found inside the cave. Small streams originating from the limestone formation are present. The limestone hills are edged by dipterocarp forests as well as secondary forests, as well as plantations at the foot of the hills ( Figure 10 ). Cnemaspis sirehensis sp. nov. occurs sympatrically with Cyrtodactylus geckos ( C. consobrinus and C. pubisulcus ) and Hemidactylus sp.

Etymology. The epithet sirehensis comes from the type locality, Gua Sireh (Sireh Cave), Kampung Bantang, Serian and translates to betel in Malay. Betel is a type of plant of the family Piperaceae , consumed as betel quid or in ‘paan’. Gua Sireh is also known as an important archaeological site in south-western Sarawak.

Comparison. Cnemapsis sirehensis sp. nov. differs from other Bornean Cnemaspis by having a reddish-brown head, body and limbs; 12–13 supralabials (versus 13–14 in C. lagang sp. nov.); 10–12 infralabials; 6–7 postmentals (versus 3 in C. kendallii , 10 in C. dringi , and 10–11 in C. lagang sp. nov.); a pair of medium, subtriangular, dusky brown patches in shoulder region; 1–2/1–2 (L/R) postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base (versus 2–3/ 2–3 in C. kendallii , 2–3/ 2–3 in C. paripari , 3–8/ 3–8 in C. leucura and 2–7/ 2–7 in C. matahari sp. nov.); ventrolateral row of caudal tubercles absent (except C. lagang sp. nov., C. matahari sp. nov.); keeled median subcaudals (versus smooth in C. leucura , C. nigridia , C. paripari ); tail with Brownish-Olive and Bright Yellow banding from tail base to tail tip (versus Dusky Brown and Buff-Yellow caudal bands in C. kendallii, Dusky Brown and Orange Yellow caudal bands in C. nigridia , Pratt’s Payne’s Gray anteriorly and immaculate posteriorly in C. paripari, Faint Dusky Brown and Trogon Yellow caudal bands anteriorly and immaculate posteriorly in C. lagang sp. nov.); and regenerated tail Trogon Yellow (versus Spectrum Yellow in C. matahari sp. nov. and Buff Yellow in C. lagang sp. nov.).

A summary of Bornean Cnemaspis morphology is presented in Tables 4 and 5 . Compared to nominal southeast Asian Cnemaspis the Bornean Cnemaspis differ in multiple morphological aspects. The Cau Mau clade ( C. boulengerii and C. psychedelica ) have fewer supralabials (7–10 versus 9–15 in Bornean species) and infralabials (5–8 versus 9–13 in Bornean species); caudal tubercles restricted to single paravertebral rows; no lateral caudal furrows; and plate-like femoral and subtibial scales. The Pattani clade ( C. monachorum , C. biocellata , C. niyomwanae , and C. kumpoli ) have smooth ventral scales; and in C. niyomwanae and C. kumpoli , no lateral and ventrolateral row of caudal tubercles. The Northern Sunda clade, comprising the chantaburiensis group, are the only species of Cnemaspis that have a dark, mid-gular line, thought to be synapomorphic; the siamensis group exhibit the states of light-coloured prescapular crescent, a yellow belly and ventral surface of hindlimbs and caudal tubercles not restricted to a single paravertebral row and encircling tail; the argus group have no lateral or ventrolateral caudal tubercles; and the affinis group have a lateral row of caudal tubercles, no median row of enlarged subcaudal scales and submetatarsal scales on first toe.

Figures

FIGURE 8: Cnemaspis sirehensis sp. nov., paratype, UNIMAS 9715, SVL 45 mm, adult female from Gua Sireh, Gunung Nambi, Serian District, First Division, Sarawak. (B) type series displaying dorsal side of the body (from left to right: UNIMAS 9715, UNIMAS 9609 and UNIMAS 9610).

FIGURE 9: Ventral view of Cnemaspis sirehensis sp. nov. type series (from left to right: UNIMAS 9715, UNIMAS 9609 and UNIMAS 9610); close up of body parts (A) Postmental, (B) Cloaca, (C) Subcaudal, (D) Manus and (E) Pes.

FIGURE 10: Habitat (above) and microhabitat (below) of Cnemaspis sirehenesis sp. nov. in Gua Sireh, Gunung Nambi, Kampung Bantang, Serian District, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo).