A new species of karst-adapted Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from a threatened karst region in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia

Grismer LL 1 , Wood PL 2 , Mohamed M 3 , Chan KO 4 , Heinz HM 5 , Sumarli AS 6 Show all authors , Chan JA 6 , Loredo AI 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California 92515 USA; Email: [email protected]
  • 2 Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 150 East Bulldog Boulevard, Provo, Utah 84602 USA.; Email: [email protected]
  • 3 Malaysian Nature Society, JKR 641, Jalan Kelantan, Bukit Persekutuan, 50480, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Email: [email protected]
  • 4 Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA; Email: [email protected]
  • 5 Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, 92182 USA; Email: unknown
  • 6 Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California 92515 USA; Email: unknown
Zootaxa, 2013;3746:463-72.
PMID: 25113489 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3746.3.5

Abstract

A new species of karst-adapted gekkonid lizard of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch is described from Gua Gunting and Gua Goyang in a karst region of Merapoh, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia whose unique limestone formations are in immediate danger of being quarried. The new species differs from all other species of Cnemaspis based on its unique suite of morphological and color pattern characters. Its discovery underscores the unique biodiversity endemic to karst regions and adds to a growing list of karst-adapted reptiles from Peninsular Malaysia. We posit that new karst-adapted species endemic to limestone forests will continue to be discovered and these regions will harbor a significant percentage of Peninsular Malaysia's biodiversity and thusly should be conserved rather than quarried.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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