Wednesday, July 24, 2013

[Herpetology • 2013] Cnemaspis grismeri | Grismer’s Rock Gecko | Cicak Batu Grismer • A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia



Cnemaspis grismeri Wood, Quah, Shahrul & Muin 2013
Grismer’s Rock Gecko | Cicak Batu Grismer (Malay.)


Abstract
A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887, C. grismeri sp. nov. is described from the southeastern base of the Banjaran Bintang in northern Peninsular Malaysia. It is differentiated from its congeners by a unique combination of characters including size, coloration and scalation. Cnemapis grismeri sp. nov. is most closely related to C. mcguirei, an upland species endemic to the Banjaran Bintang. This phylogeographic pattern is also seen in the upland and lowland Banjaran Bintang species of Cyrtodactylus bintangtinggi and C. bintangrendah, respectively (Grismer et al. 2012). The discovery of yet another endemic gekkonid in the poorly explored karst regions of Peninsular Malaysia underscores the necessity for concentrated collecting efforts in these unique landscapes.

Key words: new species, taxonomy, karst, Cnemaspis grismeri, Gekkonidae, herpetofauna, Malaysia

FIGURE 2. Upper left: adult female Cnemaspis grismeri sp. nov. paratype LSUHC 9973 in dark daytime coloration. Upper right: adult male C. mcguirei LSUDPC 5175.
Lower left: adult male C. grismeri (uncataloged) sleeping on a leaf in its light, nighttime color phase. Lower right: adult male C. grismeri sp. nov. LSUHC 9972 in dark daytime coloration.

Wood, P.K., Jr, Quah, E., Shahrul, A. and Muin, M.A. 2013. A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa. 3691 (5): 538–558. http://mapress.com/zootaxa/2013/f/z03691p558f.pdf

Grismer, L.L., Wood, P.K., Jr, Quah, E.H., Shahrul, A., Muin, M.A., Sumontha, M., Ahmad, N., Bauer, A.M., Wangkulangkul, S., Grismer, J.L. and Pauwels, O.S.G. 2012. A phylogeny and taxonomy of the Thai-Malay Peninsula Bent-toed Geckos of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae): combined morphological and molecular analyses with descriptions of seven new species. Zootaxa. 3520: 1-55. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2012/f/z03520p055f.pdf