Cnemaspis bidongensis, Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Ahmad, Amirrudin B., Sumarli, I., Vazquez, Jessika J., Ismail, Lukman H. B., Nance, Ronald, Mohd-Amin, Muhammad Afif B., Othman, Mohamad N. A. B., Rizaijessika, Syed A., Kuss, Maria, Murdoch, Matthew & Cobos, Anthony, 2014

Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Ahmad, Amirrudin B., Sumarli, I., Vazquez, Jessika J., Ismail, Lukman H. B., Nance, Ronald, Mohd-Amin, Muhammad Afif B., Othman, Mohamad N. A. B., Rizaijessika, Syed A., Kuss, Maria, Murdoch, Matthew & Cobos, Anthony, 2014, A new species of insular Rock Gecko (Genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from the Bidong Archipelago, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, Zootaxa 3755 (5), pp. 447-456 : 449-454

Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov.

Pulau Bidong Rock Gecko Cicak Batu Pulau Bidong Figs. 1 , 2

Holotype. Adult female ( LSUHC 11455) collected on 26 August 2013 by Jacob A. Chan at 2200 hrs from Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia (5°37.201’ N 103°03.244’ E; 49 m elevation).

Paratype. Adult males ( LSUHC 11447, 11452–54) and adult female LSUHC 11451 bear the same data as the holotype except they were collected between 1800 and 2400 hrs.

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. differs from all other Southeast Asian species of Cnemaspis in having the unique combination of adult males reaching at least 56.1 mm SVL, adult females reaching 58.1 mm SVL; nine or 10 supralabials; 7–9 infralabials; enlarged, elongate mental scale; keeled ventrals; no precloacal pores; moderately prominent, randomly arranged, dorsal tubercles; 21–26 paravertebral tubercles; no tubercles on lower flanks caudal tubercles encircling tail; no tubercles in lateral caudal furrows; ventrolateral caudal tubercles present anteriorly; subcaudals keeled; a median row of enlarged, keeled subcaudals; one or two postcloacal tubercles on each side; no enlarged femoral, subtibial, or submetatarsal scales; subtibials keeled; 26–30 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; dark and light caudal bands distinct in both sexes; and no dark mottling on lateral portions of belly. These differences are summarized across all species of the C. kendallii species group in Table 1 and all across Southeast Asian species in Wood et al. (2013:Table 4).

Description of holotype. Adult female; SVL 58.1 mm; head oblong in dorsal profile, moderate in size (HL/ SVL 0.26), somewhat narrow (HW/SVL 0.17), flattened (HD/HL 0.44), distinct from neck; snout short (ES/HL 0.52), slightly concave in lateral profile; postnasal region constricted medially, flat; scales of rostrum weakly keeled, raised, slightly larger than more rounded scales on occiput; low, supraorbital ridges; moderate frontal sulcus; canthus rostralis weak; eye large (ED/HL 0.21); extra-brillar fringe scales largest anteriorly; pupil round; ear opening oval, taller than wide; rostral concave, dorsal 95% divided by longitudinal groove; rostral bordered posteriorly by supranasals and laterally by first supralabials; nine R,L raised supralabials tapering in size posteriorly; nine R,L infralabials, decreasing in size posteriorly; nostrils elliptical, oriented posterolaterally, bordered posteriorly by small, granular, postnasal scales; mental large, triangular, greatly elongate, extending posteriorly to level of 4th infralabials, bordered posterolaterally by six scales (postmentals), two of which are elongate and contact the majority of the mental; gular scales raised, keeled; throat scales larger, raised, keeled and grading into larger, keeled pectoral scales.

Body stature moderate (AG/SVL 0.44); small, keeled, dorsal scales equal in size throughout body, intermixed with a sparse array of slightly larger, randomly arranged multicarinate tubercles; tubercles extend from occiput to base of tail; no tubercles on lower flanks; 21 paravertebral tubercles; pectoral and abdominal scales raised, keeled, not elongate, similar size throughout; abdominal scales slightly larger than dorsals; no precloacal pores; forelimbs moderately long, slender (FL/SVL 0.18); dorsal scales of brachium raised, weakly keeled; dorsal scales of forearm raised, keeled; ventral scales of brachium smooth, raised, juxtaposed; ventral scales of forearm weakly, raised, juxtaposed; palmar scales smooth, juxtaposed, raised; digits long with an inflected joint; claws recurved; subdigital lamellae unnotched; lamellae beneath first phalanges not granular, more widened distally; lamellae beneath phalanx immediately following inflection not granular but wide like lamellae of distal phalanges; no interdigital webbing at base of digits; fingers increase in length from first to fourth with fourth and fifth nearly equal in length; hind limbs slightly longer and thicker than forelimbs (HL/SVL 0.22); dorsal scales of thigh keeled, raised, juxtaposed; scales of anterior surface of thigh keeled; ventral scales of thigh raised, weakly keeled; subtibial scales keeled, flat, not subimbricate, with no enlarged anterior row; plantar scales smooth, juxtaposed, raised; no enlarged submetatarsal scales beneath first metatarsal; digits elongate with an inflected joint; claws recurved; subdigital lamellae unnotched; lamellae beneath first phalanges narrow but not granular proximally, wider distally; lamellae beneath phalanx immediately following inflection granular, wide like lamellae of distal phalanges; weak interdigital webbing at base of digits; toes increase in length from first to fourth with fourth being slightly longer than fifth; 29 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; caudal scales arranged in segmented whorls; dorsal caudal scales raised anteriorly, weakly keeled, juxtaposed; no middorsal furrow; lateral furrows shallow; a median row of enlarged, keeled subcaudals; caudal tubercles encircle tail; caudal tubercles absent from lateral furrow; one enlarged postcloacal tubercle on lateral surface of hemipenial swellings at base of tail.

bidongensis sp. nov. baueri kendallii pemanggilensis

Maximum SVL (mm) 58.1 67.4 76.0 60.0 Supralabials 9, 10 11–13 7–12 10,11 Enlarged, elongate mental scale Present Absent Absent Absent Paravertebral tubercles 21–26 18–27 17–26 30–37 Tubercles on ventral portions of flanks No No Yes No

Single, median row of keeled subcaudal scales No No No Yes

Enlarged median subcaudal scale row Yes Yes No Yes

Sexually dimorphic dorsal pattern Yes No No No

Dorsal pattern with elements of dark and light blotches Yes No Yes Yes

Posterior two-thirds of tail black in males Yes Yes Yes No

Subcaudal region yellow in adult males No No Yes No

Color pattern in life ( Fig. 2 ). Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs and tail brown, and the posterior portion of tail black; a series of diffuse, yellowish lines on rostrum extend posteriorly onto frontal region; dorsal pattern on occiput consisting of a series of dull white spots surrounding a dark brown, tear-drop shaped, vertebral marking; three diffuse, dark brown, postorbital stripes radiate from eyes; dorsal pattern of neck and body consists of a vertebral series of six dull-white blotches extending to base of tail paralleled by similar blotches on flanks; a series of seven diffuse dark brown blotches extend from side of neck along flanks to base of tail on each side of body; intervening area between all body blotches consists of a network of dark and light mottling that extends onto the limbs; nine white caudal bands infused with faint black speckling encircle tail; inter-band areas bear black mottling; ventral surfaces of head, body and limbs beige to dull yellow with weak black stippling in each scale; anterior gular region yellow; subcaudal region bearing white, irregularly shaped bands; small, dark, elongate blotch on mental and medial postmental.

Variation. The female paratype (LSUHC 11451) closely resembles the holotype in all aspects of coloration except that the overall pattern is slightly less bold and the posterior one-third of the tail is regenerated and bears an irregular lineate pattern ( Fig. 2 ). The male paratypes (LSUHC 11447, 11452–54) depart significantly from the holotype in that sexual dimorphism in this species is marked ( Fig. 2 ). Males have an overall yellowish to dullorange dorsal pattern on the head, body and tail and lack the dull-white blotching seen in females yet retain the darker blotching pattern. The caudal pattern is banded but the light bands are not white as in the females, the dark bands are dark brown as opposed to black, and the posterior portion of the tail is not black. The ventral pattern of males is similar to that of females except that the lateral margins of the abdomen tend to form a dark network enclosing small, lighter spots. Also, subcaudal banding is faint.

Distribution. Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. is presumed to be endemic to Pulau Bidong ( Fig. 1 ) being that it has not been found in any other archipelago or any other island in the Bidong Archipelago (Vazquez et al. in prep.)

Natural History. Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. occurs in secondary, coastal forest and is widespread throughout the island. During the Vietnamese refugee period from May 1975 to October 1991, the island’s primary forest was severely degraded by cutting. During this time, as many as 250,000 people fleeing the communist take over of southern Vietnam spent time on Pulau Bidong and in June 1979 it was considered the most heavily populated place on earth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidong_ Island). Although this had a catastrophic effect on the native forest, C. bidongensis sp. nov. was able to survive because it is not a microhabitat specialist as are many other species of Cnemaspis ( Grismer 2011a; Grismer & Chan 2009; Grismer & Ngo 2007; Grismer et al. 2010a, b; 2013; Wood et al. 2013). During the course of our fieldwork, lizards were observed day and night on both granite rocks and vegetation ( Fig. 3 ). All lizards observed were wary, swift, agile and would seek shelter at the slightest provocation. During the day, lizards would often jump from rocks to nearby trees and escape by ascending 3–5 meters up the trunk—a behavior we have not observed and do not know of being reported in any other species of Cnemaspis . Lizards would also avoid capture by retreating into rock cracks. During the evening, lizards were commonly seen on rocks, branches, and leaves where they appeared to be sleeping. When aroused, many would drop to the forest floor from as high as 1.5 meters and escape into the leaf litter—a behavior also not known for species of this genus. Hatchlings and juveniles were not observed but the presence of gravid females carrying two eggs suggests that July is the beginning of the reproductive season.

Etymology. The specific epithet bidongensis is an adjective in reference to the type locality Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia.

TABLE 2. Meristic and mensural character states of the type series of Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. Abbreviations are listed in Materials and Methods.

Comparisons. Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. is a member of a monophyletic lineage referred to as the kendallii group (Grismer et al. in prep.) which contains C. kendallii ; C. baueri Das & Grismer and C. pemanggilensis Grismer & Das and is diagnosed by having a maximum SVL 50.5–81.0 mm; 7–13 supralabials; 7– 12 infralabials; keeled ventral scales; no precloacal pores; 17–37 paravertebral tubercles; caudal tubercles not restricted to a single paravertebral row; lateral row of caudal tubercles present; 1–4 postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base; no enlarged femoral or subtibial scales; submetatarsal scales of first toe not enlarged; subtibials keeled; and 26–38 subdigital fourth toe lamellae. Cnemaspis bidongensis differs from all members of the kendallii group in having an enlarged, elongate mental scale extending posteriorly to the level of the fourth infralabials bordered posterolaterally by an enlarged postmental and a sexually dimorphic dorsal body pattern. Within this group C. bidongensis is most closely related to C. kendallii from which it differs by lacking as opposed to having tubercles on the ventral portions of the flanks; having as opposed to lacking an enlarged, median, subcaudal scale row; having as opposed to lacking a sexually dimorphic dorsal body pattern. From C. baueri , C. bidongensis sp. nov. differs by having a smaller maximum SVL (58.1 mm versus 67.4 mm); nine or 10 versus 11–13 supralabials; and a dorsal body pattern that contains elements of dark and light blotching ( Fig. 1 ). Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from C. pemanggilensis in having 21–26 versus 30–37 paravertebral tubercles. These differences are represented in Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution of the endemic insular species of Cnemaspis on archipelagos off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

FIGURE 2. Upper left: adult female holotype (LSUHC 11455) of Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. from Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. Upper right: adult male paratype LSUHC 11447. Lower left: ventral views adult male paratype LSUHC 11452 (upper) and adult female holotype LSUHC 11455 (lower). Lower right: adult male C. kendallii (LSUDPC 4426) from Gunung Ledang, Johor, Peninsular Malaysia.

FIGURE 3. Habitat structure of Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. from Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia.