The exploration of unsurveyed areas in southern Thailand discovered two new karst-adapted species, Cyrtodactylussungaiupesp. nov. and Cyrtodactyluswangkhramensissp. nov., from Thung Wa and La-ngu Districts, Satun Province, respectively. These new species are members of the C.pulchellus group that occur along the Thai-Malay Peninsula. The new species can be distinguished from all other congeners by their key morphological characters and genetic divergence. Morphologically, Cyrtodactylussungaiupesp. nov. and Cyrtodactyluswangkhramensissp. nov. can be diagnosed from other members by having a combination of differences in body size; degree of dorsal tuberculation; absence of tubercles on ventral surfaces; number of ventral scales, paravertebral tubercles and femoroprecloacal pores in males only; deep precloacal groove only in males; absence of a scattered pattern of white dorsal tubercles; number of dark body bands; and the extent of caudal tubercles on an original tail. Although the two species are sister taxa and have nearly identical morphologies, they are considered to be different species, based on a relatively high uncorrected pairwise genetic divergence of the mitochondrial ND2 gene (6.59-6.89%), statistically significant univariate and multivariate morphological differences (PERMANOVA and ANOVA) and diagnostic characteristics of caudal tuberculation on the original tail. Moreover, Cyrtodactylussungaiupesp. nov. and Cyrtodactyluswangkhramensissp. nov. are currently restricted to their karstic type localities which may serve as a geographic barrier to dispersal and gene flow.
The taxonomic status of Cyrtodactylus zebraicus in Peninsular Malaysia has been plagued with uncertainty over the last three decades owing to a lack of vouchered material. Recent collections confirmed the presence of this species in the northernmost state of Perlis and for the country. An expanded description of the newly collected Peninsular Malaysian specimens as well as the holotype of C. zebraicus is provided along with a comparison with other Cyrtodactylus species in the country. This study adds to the growing number of herpetofaunal species with Indo-Burmese affinities discovered in northern states of the country and the biogeographic importance of this region for the exchange of fauna and flora. The findings also highlight the importance of continued field work along the biogeographic interchange of the Banjaran Nakawan that separates southwestern Thailand from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia and the need to sample and collect voucher specimens that can be deposited in proper scientific collections for current and future research.
Phylogenetic and morphological analyses delimit and diagnose, respectively, a new population of a karst-dwelling Cyrtodactylus from extreme northern Thailand. The new species, Cyrtodactylusphamiensis sp. nov., of the chauquangensis group inhabits karst caves and outcroppings and karst vegetation in the vicinity of Pha Mi Village in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Within the chauquangensis group, Cyrtodactylusphamiensis sp. nov. is the earliest diverging species of a strongly supported clade composed of the granite-dwelling C.doisuthep and the karst-dwelling sister species Cyrtodactylus sp. 6 and C.erythrops. The nearly continuous karstic habitat between the type locality of Cyrtodactylusphamiensis sp. nov. and its close relatives Cyrtodactylus sp. 6 and C.erythrops, extends for approximately 200 km along the border region of Thailand and the eastern limit of the Shan Plateau of Myanmar. Further exploration of this region, especially the entire eastern ~ 95% of the Shan Plateau, will undoubtably recover new populations whose species status will need evaluation. As in all other countries of Indochina and northern Sundaland, the continual discovery of new karst-dwelling populations of Cyrtodactylus shows no signs of tapering off, even in relatively well-collected areas. This only highlights the conservation priority that these unique karstic landscapes still lack on a large scale across all of Asia.
A new species of rock-dwelling Leiolepis is described from the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand. Leiolepisglaurung sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other sexual species of Leiolepis by a combination of having a black gular region with a wide medial yellow stripe, a yellow ventrum with black mottling, bright red to orange subcaudal coloration, having reduced to no expandable flanks, and having only one black transverse bar on the flanks. This is the first rocky habitat-adapted Leiolepis. Leiolepisglaurung sp. nov. demonstrates numerous ecological adaptations to survive in these rocky habitats. Leiolepis are known for their expandable flanks with bright display colors, however Leiolepisglaurung sp. nov. has reduced or no ability to expand its flanks. We hypothesize this is an adaptation to reduce their body diameter to better fit into smaller rocky burrows unlike the larger and deeper burrows constructed in looser soils by other Leiolepis species. This discovery increases the number of Leiolepis species in Thailand to six, and worldwide to 11.