[Herpetology • 2022] Goniurosaurus wangshu • A New Species of Tiger Gecko (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Guangdong, China

Goniurosaurus wangshu Zhu, Wu, li & He, 

in Zhu, Wu, Liu, Bai, Román-Palacios, Li & He, 2022.

Wangshu Cave Gecko | 望舒睑虎  ||  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5188.6.3 

 Researchgate.net/publication/363760822

 

Abstract

A new species of Tiger Gecko in the genus Goniurosaurus is described from Guangdong, China. This new species, Goniurosaurus wangshu sp. nov. is the fifth species of Goniurosaurus found in karst topography of Guangdong. It is distinguished morphologically from congeners in this region by the combination of thirteen precloacal pores in male; dorsal ground color of head, body, and limbs in adults yellow; and iris orange. To validate our morphological inferences and support the description of Goniurosaurus wangshu sp. nov. as a new species, we sequenced 16S, CMOS, cytb, and RAG1 gene regions and performed molecular phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic analysis places the new species within the G. yingdeensis group and highlights the evolutionary distinction between this new species and other described congeners.

Key words: taxonomy, molecular phylogeny, karst

Goniurosaurus wangshu sp. nov. from Guangdong, China.
 A: Immature female (photographed in the field); B:Adult female (photographed in the field);
C: Scalation and coloration characters of the head (same individual as in Fig 1B); D:Habitat.

Goniurosaurus wangshu Zhu, Wu, li & He sp. nov.

 

Etymology. The specific epithet wangshu is for the Chinese phonetic alphabet 望舒, which was noted in ancient Chinese poem Li Sao over 2000 years ago. In ancient Chinese mythology, Wang Shu is the driver of the chariot of the moon. This name also corresponds to the time when the specimens were collected during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a traditional Chinese Festival that is associated with the full moon. Additionally, this name appeals to the yellow color of the species that resembles the moonlight. The epithet is a noun in apposition. For the commonname, we suggest “Wangshu Cave Gecko, 望舒睑虎”. 

Xiao-yu Zhu, Shi-yang Wu, Yi-jiao Liu, Yun Bai, Cristian Román-Palacios, Zheng Li and Zhu-Qing He. 2022. Goniurosaurus wangshu sp. nov., A New Species of Tiger Gecko from Guangdong, China (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Zootaxa. 5188(6); 544-558. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5188.6.3

  Researchgate.net/publication/363760822_Goniurosaurus_wangshu_a_new_species_of_Tiger_Gecko_from_Guangdong_China

[Herpetology • 2022] Eublepharis pictus • A New Species of Leopard Geckos, Eublepharis Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Eastern Ghats, India with Notes on Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827

Eublepharis pictus

 Mirza & Gnaneswar, 2022. 

Painted Leopard Gecko  ||  DOI:  10.3897/evolsyst.6.83290

 twitter.com/SnakesZeeshan

E. hardwickii juvenile (uncollected) in its natural habitat. 

Photo by Supriya Samanta 

Abstract

A recent molecular phylogenetic study of the genus Eublepharis Gray, 1827 revealed the presence of a genetically divergent lineage sister to Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827. We re-assessed the taxonomy of Eublepharis hardwickii based on museum material in light of the molecular phylogenetic study and the results support the recognization of two species distributed on either sides of the Brahmani River. A redescription of E. hardwickii is presented based on the holotype and additional museum material along-with the description of a new species, Eublepharis pictus sp. nov. from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The presence of yet another distinct lineage in such close geographical proximity in the northern Eastern Ghats highlights the significance of these relic forests and advocates the need for conservation prioritization.

Key Words: Biodiversity, conservation, Eastern Ghats, leopard gecko, Sauria, Taxonomy

Map of east India showing the distribution of Eublepharis hardwickii (black circles) and Eublepharis pictus sp. nov. (blue rhombus).
Locality details for E. hardwickii (black numbers) 1. Chittagong, 2. Aushgram, 3. Chaibasa, 4. Barajamda, 5. Balasore;
E. pictus sp. nov. (blue numbers) 1. Visakhapatnam, 2. Jaypore, 3. Kapilash, 4. Kandhamal, 5. Khurda, 6. Angul.

Image of E. pictus sp. nov. by Gnaneshwar C. H.

 Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827

Diagnosis: A medium sized Eublepharis reaching SVL of 140 mm, with 24 rows of flat, tubercle-like moderately keeled scales across the dorsum intermixed with much smaller scales, a single pale band between the nuchal loop and caudal constriction; smooth subdigital lamellae on digit IV of pes 17; 16 precloacal pores in an angulate series lacking a diastema.

Etymology: The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Major-General Thomas Hardwicke (1756–1835) of the Bengal army of the East India Company.

Eublepharis hardwickii juvenile (uncollected) in its natural habitat. Photo by Supriya Samanta a,
b. Eublepharis pictus sp. nov. in life from Visakhapatnam (uncollected). Photo by Zeeshan A. Mirza; c. Habitat near Visakhapatnam where Eublepharis pictus sp. nov. was observed (not collected). Photo by Zeeshan A. Mirza.

 Eublepharis pictus sp. nov.

  

Diagnosis: A medium sized Eublepharis reaching SVL of 117 mm (max.), with 23–26 rows of large flat, tubercle-like moderately keeled scales across the dorsum intermixed with much smaller scales, a single pale band between the nuchal loop and caudal constriction; smooth subdigital lamellae on digit IV of pes 19; 17–18 precloacal pores in an angulate series lacking a diastema.

Etymology: The specific epithet ‘pictus’ is a Latin word that means ‘painted’ referring to the colouration of the species in life. Suggested common name ‘Painted leopard gecko’.

    

 Zeeshan A. Mirza and Chandrashekaruni Gnaneswar. 2022. Description of A New Species of Leopard Geckos, Eublepharis Gray, 1827 from Eastern Ghats, India with Notes on Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827. Evolutionary Systematics. 6(1): 77-88.  DOI:  10.3897/evolsyst.6.83290

 twitter.com/SnakesZeeshan/status/1529887024412790787

[Herpetology • 2022] The Evolutionary History of An Accidental Model Organism, the Leopard Gecko Eublepharis macularius (Squamata: Eublepharidae)

in Agarwal, Bauer, Gamble, Giri, Jablonski, et al., 2022. 

   

DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107414 

 facebook.com/AkshayKhandekarAK

Highlights

• First multi-locus, range-wide sampling of leopard geckos, including most recognised species, synonyms.

• Updated time-tree for Eublepharidae shows most recent common ancestry at 77 Myr ago.

• 10 species of Eublepharis, Oligo-Miocene origins, with the most recent common ancestor entering India from Saharo-Arabia.

• Pleistocene separation of lineages occurs across different biogeographic regions within E. angramainyu and E. hardwickii, with E. macularius now recognized as five species .

• Model organism E. macularius represents a single population of this species with low mtDNA divergence, distributed in Pakistan.

Abstract

The leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, is a widely used model organism in laboratory and experimental studies. The high phenotypic diversity in the pet trade, the fact that the provenance of different breeding lines is unknown, and that distinct Eublepharis species are known to hybridize, implies that the continued use of E. macularius as a model requires clarity on the origin of the lineages in the pet trade. We combine multi-locus sequence data and the first range-wide sampling of the genus Eublepharis to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Eublepharidae and Eublepharis, with an updated time-tree for the Eublepharidae. Our sampling includes five of the six recognized species and additional nominal taxa of uncertain status comprising 43 samples from 34 localities plus 48 pet-trade samples. The Eublepharidae began diversifying in the Cretaceous. Eublepharis split from its sister genera in Africa in the Palaeocene-Eocene, and began diversifying in the Oligocene-Miocene, with late Miocene-Pliocene cladogenesis giving rise to extant species. The current species diversity within this group is moderately underestimated. Our species delimitation suggests 10 species with four potentially unnamed divergent lineages in Iran, India and Pakistan. All 30 individuals of E. macularius that we sampled from the pet trade, which include diverse morphotypes, come from a few shallow E. macularius clades, confirming that lab and pet trade strains are part of a single taxon. One of the wild-caught haplotypes of E. macularius, from near Karachi, Pakistan, is identical to (10) pet-trade samples and all other captive populations are closely related to wild-caught animals from central/southern Pakistan (0.1–0.5 % minimum pairwise uncorrected ND2 sequence divergence).

 

Keywords: Aridification, Divergence dating, Eublepharis macularius, Historical biogeography, Pet trade

 

Ishan Agarwal, Aaron M. Bauer, Tony Gamble, Varad B. Giri, Daniel Jablonski, Akshay Khandekar, Pratyush P. Mohapatra, Rafaqat Masroor, Anurag Mishra and Uma Ramakrishnan. 2022. The Evolutionary History of An Accidental Model Organism, the Leopard Gecko Eublepharis macularius (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 168; 107414. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107414

  facebook.com/AkshayKhandekarAK/posts/4658528334245823

[Herpetology • 2021] Goniurosaurus chengzheng • A New Species of Leopard Gecko (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Guangxi, China

Goniurosaurus chengzheng Zhu, Li & He 

in Zhu, Liu, ... et He, 2021.

Chengzheng Cave Gecko | 诚正睑虎 || 

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4996.3.8

 

Abstract

Six species of geckos in the genus Goniurosaurus have been recorded from Guangxi, China. Here we describe a new species, Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. The new species is similar to allied species from Guangxi, but unique in a combination of the following characters: (1) four body bands with three between limb insertions; (2) precloacal pores 20; (3) body color reddish- brown; (4) snout to eye distance: eye to ear distance < 1. We used the mitochondrial genes 16S and cytb to confirm the distinctiveness of the species and place it within a molecular phylogeny of Goniurosaurus. The type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Biology, East China Normal University (ECNU).

Key words: gecko, taxonomy, molecular phylogeny, karst, Guangxi, China 

Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. from Guangxi, China.
 A. Adult female (photographed in 2017, but not collected); B. Scalation and coloration characters of the head of the holotype; C. Adult male, holotype.

(photos by Zhu Xiao-Yu)

Goniurosaurus chengzheng Zhu, Li & He sp. nov.

 Diagnosis. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. differs from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: SE shorter than EE (Table 3); one nuchal loop, four body bands; number of precloacal pores 20; body color reddish brown in life (Table 4).

Distribution and Life History. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. is only known from central Guangxi, China at 100-250 m elevation. The known distributions of G. chengzheng sp. nov. and G. gezhi are not overlapping and are separated by the Zuo River. Specimens of the new species were found on limestone and soil slopes near a swallet at night. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. was found to co-occur with Moellendorf’s Rat Snake (Elaphe moellendorffi Boettger) and a terrestrial crab (Tiwaripotamon sp.) in the limestone area.

Etymology. The specific epithet chengzheng is from the Chinese phonetic alphabet 诚正, which was noted in the ancient work of Chinese literature Daxue around 2000 years ago. It means having true ideas to put one’s mind in a proper and well-ordered condition. The word chengzheng is often used in parallel with gezhi. Given this new species is sister to G. gezhi in our molecular phylogeny, we use chengzheng for the specific epithet. For the common name, we suggest “Chengzheng Cave Gecko, 诚正睑虎”.

Xiao-Yu Zhu, Yi-Jiao Liu, Yun Bai, Cristian Román-Palacios, Zheng Li and Zhu-Qing He. 2021. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov., A New Species of Leopard Gecko from Guangxi, China (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Zootaxa. 4996(3); 540-554. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4996.3.8

Xiao-Yu Zhu, Guang-Yu Chen, Cristian Román-Palacios, Zheng Li and Zhu-Qing He. 2020. Goniurosaurus gezhi sp. nov., A New Gecko Species from Guangxi, China (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Zootaxa. 4852(2); 211–222. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4852.2.6

[Herpetology • 2020] Goniurosaurus gollum • The Stoor Hobbit of Guangdong: A Cave-dwelling Leopard Gecko (Squamata, Eublepharidae) from South China

Goniurosaurus gollum 

 Qi, Wang, Grismer, Chen, Lyu & Wang, 2020

Gollum Leopard Gecko | 广东睑虎 || DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.991.54935

Abstract

A new species of the genus Goniurosaurus is described based on three specimens collected from a limestone cave in Huaiji County, Guangdong Province, China. Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, the new species is nested within the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis species group. However, morphological analyses cannot ascribe it to any known species of that group. It is distinguished from the other three species in the group by a combination of the following characters: scales around midbody 121–128; dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 16–17; presence of 10–11 precloacal pores in males, and absent in females; nuchal loop and body bands immaculate, without black spots; iris orange, gradually darker on both sides. The discovery of yet another limestone-adapted species of Goniurosaurus in Guangdong Province underscores a growing body of evidence for the high biodiversity of limestone habitats and brings into sharp focus the urgent need for their conservation.

Keywords: Goniurosaurus gollum, sp. nov., karst, limestone cave, taxonomy, systematics

Figure 3. Type series of Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov.
A holotype, male, SYS r002420 B paratype, male, SYS r002421 C paratype, female, SYS r002421; (1) dorsal view; (2) dorsal view of head; (3) ventral view of head; (4) close-up of the precloacal region, the Arabic number refer to the number of precloacal pores.

 Photographs by Shuo Qi.

Figure 2. A The general aspect of the adult male holotype of Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov. (SYS r002420) in life B scalation and coloration characters of the head of the holotype.

Photographs by Shuo Qi.

 

Goniurosaurus gollum Qi, Wang, Grismer, Lyu & Wang, sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) adult body size moderate, 91.0–93.4 mm SVL; (2) nasal scales surrounding nares seven or eight; (4) internasal single; (5) eyelid fringe scales 59–63; (6) granular scales of upper eyelids similar in size to those on top of head; (7) scales around midbody 121–128; (8) longitudinal dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 16 or 17; (9) paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions 25 or 26; (10) claws sheathed by four scales, dorsal claw scales small, two lateral claw scales short and shell-shaped; (11) axillary pockets deep; (12) presence of 10 or 11 precloacal pores in males and absent in females; (13) dorsal ground color of head, body, and limbs in adults yellowish brown and mottled with irregularly shaped dark-brown blotches; (14) nuchal loop complete, rounded posteriorly; (15) presence of three or four thin dorsal body bands between nuchal loop and caudal constriction, with black anterior and posterior borders, bands usually irregularly shaped; (16) iris orange, gradually darker on both sides.

Figure 4. Comparisons of iris color with three closely related congeners
A Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov. (holotype, SYS r002420) B Goniurosaurus varius (holotype, SYS r002333)
C Goniurosaurus yingdeensis (holotype SYSr000504) D Goniurosaurus zhelongi (holotype, SYS r000770).

Photographs by Shuo Qi and Ying-Yong Wang.

Figure 5. The holotype of  Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov. (SYS r002420) at its habitat: a barren limestone cave of Guangdong, China.

 Photograph by Shuo Qi.

Etymology The specific epithet “gollum” is named after the fictional character, Gollum, from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings book series. This new species and Gollum have similar cave-dwelling habit and emaciated body. We suggest the common name as “Gollum Leopard Gecko”, and according to the type locality, we suggest the Chinese formal name as “guǎng dōng jiǎn hǔ” (广东睑虎).

Distribution and ecology: Currently, Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov. is known only from Huaiji County, Guangdong Province, China. All individuals were found within a barren limestone cave approximately 50 m from the cave entrance at night after 2130 hrs (Fig. 5). The surface of the cave is covered with bat (unidentified) and bird (Apus pacificus) droppings. Stalactites are suspended from the roof and there is no vegetation. Duttaphrynus melanostictus was observed in the same area.

Shuo Qi, Jian Wang, L. Lee Grismer, Hong-Hui Chen, Zhi-Tong Lyu and Ying-Yong Wang. 2020. The Stoor Hobbit of Guangdong: Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov., A Cave-dwelling Leopard Gecko (Squamata, Eublepharidae) from South China. ZooKeys. 991: 137-153. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.991.54935  

    

   

[Herpetology • 2020] Goniurosaurus varius • A Definition of the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group (Squamata, Eublepharidae) with the Description of A New Species from northern Guangdong Province, China

Goniurosaurus varius 

Qi, Grismer, Lyu, ... et Wang, 2020

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.986.47989 

Abstract

A definition of the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group is presented in this study, on the basis of morphological and phylogenetic analyses based on a series of additional specimens. Moreover, a new species of this group, Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov., is proposed for northern Guangdong Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from the other two congeners of this group by the following unique characters: one or two internasals; enlarged supraorbital tubercles absent; paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions 27–29; dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 21–24; ten precloacal pores in males and absent in females; body bands with black spots; iris orange-red.

Keywords: Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov., Goniurosaurus zhelongi, morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy

Systematics

Class Reptilia Laurenti, 1768

Order Squamata Oppel, 1811

Family Eublepharidae Boulenger, 1883

Genus Goniurosaurus Barbour, 1908

Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group

Morphological definition. This species group can be differentiated from the other species groups by the combination of the following characters: (1) base of claws sheathed by four scales, two lateral scales of claw short and shell-shaped; (2) precloacal pores fewer than 15 in males and absent in most females; precloacal pores form a continuous transverse series not extending onto the femora; (3) enlarged row of supraorbital tubercles indistinct or absent; (4) nuchal loop rounded posteriorly; and (5) four body bands between the nuchal loop and the caudal constriction.

Goniurosaurus yingdeensis Wang, Yang & Cui, 2010

  [English name: Yingde Leopard Gecko]

 [Chinese formal name: 英德睑虎]

Distribution: Goniurosaurus yingdeensis is currently only known from the Yingde City, Guangdong Province, China.

Goniurosaurus zhelongi Wang, Jin, Li & Grismer, 2014

[English name: Zhe-Long’s Leopard Gecko] 

[Chinese formal name: 蒲氏睑虎]

Distribution: Goniurosaurus zhelongi is currently only known from the Shimentai National Nature Reserve, Yingde City, Guangdong Province, China.

A, D Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov.

Figure 5. The general aspects of Goniurosaurus yingdeensis and Goniurosaurus zhelongi
 A Goniurosaurus yingdeensis B Goniurosaurus zhelongi;
(1) adult; (2) juvenile.

Photographs by Jian Wang, Shuo Qi and Peng Cen.

Figure 9. Comparisons of iris color with two closely related congeners
A Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov. (holotype, SYS r002333)
B Goniurosaurus yingdeensis (holotype SYSr000504)
C Goniurosaurus zhelongi (holotype, SYS r000770).

Photographs by Shuo Qi and Ying-Yong Wang.

Figure 7. A Dorsolateral view of the adult male holotype SYS r002333 of Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov. in life B scalation and coloration characters of the head of the adult male holotype SYS r002333 of Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov. C ten precloacal pores in adult male holotype SYS r002333.

Photographs by Shuo Qi.

Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov.

  [English name: Nanling Leopard Gecko] 

[Chinese formal name: 南岭睑虎]

Diagnosis: Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other congeners by the combination of the following characters: (1) adult body size moderate, measuring 81.5–86.3 mm in SVL; (2) nasal scales surrounding nares 7–9; (4) internasal usually single, rarely two; (5) eyelid fringe scales 50–56; (6) granular scales of the upper eyelids similar in size to those on the top of the head; (7) scales around midbody 101–110; (8) dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 21–24; (9) paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions 27–29; (10) claws sheathed by four scales, dorsal scale small, two lateral scales short and shell-shaped; (11) axillary pockets deep; (12) presence of ten precloacal pores in males, and absent in females; (13) dorsal ground color of head, body, and limbs in adults reddish brown, mottled with varied spots and stripes; (14) nuchal loop usually incomplete, if complete, posteriorly rounded; (15) presence of four thin dorsal body bands with dark spots, bordered with black anteriorly and posteriorly, sometime last two bands indistinct; (16) usually presence of a longitudinal light colored vertebral stripe on the trunk of body; (17) light pink beneath, with dark brown lateral spots; (18) iris orange-red.

Etymology: The specific name varius means varied or diverse in Latin and refers to its variable dorsal color pattern. As the type locality locates within the Nanling National Nature Reserve, we suggest the common name as “Nanling Leopard Gecko”.

Figure 10. Differently patterned morphs of adult and juvenile coloration in Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov.  
A cross-banded morph B mottled morph C striped morph D juvenile coloration.

Photographs by Shuo Qi and Peng Cen.

Distribution and ecology: 

Goniurosaurus varius sp. nov. is currently known only from the karst environment of the Nanling National Nature Reserve, northern Guangdong Province, China (Figure 11). All individuals were found in crevices of limestone near villages, farmlands, or country lanes at elevations between 180 and 560 m at night after 21:00 hrs.

 Shuo Qi, L. Lee Grismer, Zhi-Tong Lyu, Liang Zhang, Pi-Peng Li and Ying-Yong Wang. 2020. A Definition of the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group (Squamata, Eublepharidae) with the Description of A New Species. ZooKeys. 986: 127-155. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.986.47989

[Herpetology • 2020] Goniurosaurus gezhi • A New Gecko Species (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Guangxi, China

Goniurosaurus gezhi Zhu, He & Li

in  Zhu, Chen, ... et He, 2020. 

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4852.2.6

Abstract

Five species of geckos in the genus Goniurosaurus had been recorded from Guangxi, China. Here we describe a new species, Goniurosaurus gezhi sp. nov. Zhu, He & Li. The new species is similar to those found in Guangxi and Guizhou provinces of China and Northern Vietnam, but unique in a combination of the following characters: (1) three body bands between limb insertions; (2) precloacal pores 18–20; (3) body small (SVL=70.6–83.8 mm); (4) body color orange to yellow. We evaluated the phylogenetic position of this new species based on the 16S mitochondrial gene. Molecular phylogenies validate this new species as distinct to currently described lineages within Goniurosaurus. The type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Biology, East China Normal University (ECNU).

Keywords: Reptilia, Gekkota, taxonomy, 16S, karst, Guangxi, China

Goniurosaurus gezhi sp. nov. adult males, from Guangxi, China.  

photos by Zhu Xiao-Yu. 

Goniurosaurus gezhi Zhu, He & Li sp. nov.

Etymology. The specific epithet gezhi is for the Chinese phonetic alphabet 格致, which was noted in ancient Chinese literature Daxue around 2000 years ago. It means researching something carefully and then summarizing the truth behind it. The epithet is a noun in apposition. For the common name, we suggest “Gezhi Cave Gecko.”

Xiao-Yu Zhu, Guang-Yu Chen, Cristian Román-Palacios, Zheng Li and Zhu-Qing He. 2020. Goniurosaurus gezhi sp. nov., A New Gecko Species from Guangxi, China (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Zootaxa. 4852(2); 211–222. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4852.2.6

[Herpetology • 2015] Two New Species of the Genus Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from southern China; Goniurosaurus kadoorieorum & G. kwangsiensis

FIGURE 5. The six known species of the Goniurosaurus luii species group from China. A: a female individual of G. kwangsiensis sp. nov. from Guangxi; B: paratype KFBG 140334 of G. kadoorieorum sp. nov. from Guangxi; C: adult female of G. araneus from Guangxi; D: subadult male of G. bawanglingensis from Hainan; E: adult female of G. luii from Guangxi; F: holotype SYS r000218 of G. liboensis from Guizhou.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3980.1.4

Abstract

Two new species of large geckos in the genus Goniurosaurus are described based on specimens collected from karst areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China: Goniurosaurus kadoorieorum sp. nov. and Goniurosaurus kwangsiensis sp. nov. Data on natural history of the new species are provided, as well as discussions on the current conservation status of Goniurosaurus species in southern China. Due to the popularity of this genus as novelty pets, and recurring cases of scientific descriptions driving herpetofauna to near-extinction by commercial collectors, we do not disclose the collecting localities of these restricted-range species in this publication. However, such information has been presented to relevant government agencies, and is available upon request by fellow scientists.

Keywords: Eublepharidae, Goniurosaurus, new species, taxonomy, Guangxi, Southern China

Goniurosaurus kadoorieorum sp. nov. 

Figs. 1–2, 5 

Holotype. KFBG 14032, adult male, from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China; exact locality withheld; available to qualified researchers upon request. Collected on 18 May 2014 by J.H. Yang. 

Paratypes. Four paratypes: one adult male KFBG 14031; one adult female KFBG 14033; one sub-adult male KFBG 14034; one juvenile male KFBG 14035; data identical to the holotype. Coordinates and other standard collecting information were recorded for each type and kept in the KFBG herpetological collection catalog.

Etymology. The new species, “kadoorieorum”, is named in honour of the Kadoorie brothers, Sir Horace and Lord Lawrence, from Hong Kong, for their life-long support to biodiversity research and conservation in the region. As a common name we suggest “Kadoories’ Cave Gecko”. 

Natural history and distribution. Goniurosaurus kadoorieorum sp. nov. is currently only known from its type locality in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. The new species appears to be a nocturnal karst specialist; all individuals were found amongst limestone rocks in karst forest at night.

Goniurosaurus kwangsiensis sp. nov. 

Figs. 3–5 

Holotype. KFBG 14052, adult male, from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China; exact locality withheld; available to qualified researchers upon request. Collected on 5 July 2013 by J.H. Yang.

  Paratypes. Three paratypes: two adult females KFBG 14050–51; one adult male KFBG 14053; data identical to the holotype. Coordinates and other standard collecting information were recorded for each type and kept in the KFBG herpetological collection catalog.

Etymology. The specific epithet “kwangsiensis” is named after its type locality, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China (Kwangsi is the former official name of Guangxi). For the common name, we suggest “Guangxi Cave Gecko”.

Natural history and distribution. Specimens of the new species were found in karst forest at night. A total of nine individuals were found including four adult females, four adult males and one sub-adult; four were collected and assigned as the type series. A gravid adult female containing three well-developed eggs was among the nine seen but not collected. Three eggshells, most likely of G. kwangsiensis sp. nov., were also found in a rock crevice. Sympatric herpetofauna recorded in the locality during the survey included Asian Common Toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider), King Cobra Ophiophagus Hannah (Cantor), and White-spotted Slug Snake Pareas

margaricophorus (Jan).

FIGURE 5. The six known species of the Goniurosaurus luii species group from China. A: a female individual of G. kwangsiensis sp. nov. from Guangxi; B: paratype KFBG 140334 of G. kadoorieorum sp. nov. from Guangxi; C: adult female of G. araneus from Guangxi; D: subadult male of G. bawanglingensis from Hainan; E: adult female of G. luii from Guangxi; F: holotype SYS r000218 of G. liboensis from Guizhou.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3980.1.4

Yang, Jian-huan & Bosco-Puilok Chan. 2015. Two New Species of the Genus Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Sauria: Eublepharidae) from southern China. Zootaxa. 3980(1): 67–80.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3980.1.4

http://mapress.com/zootaxa/2015/f/zt03980p080.pdf

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B5487771-10E6-4A5E-A17B-C9B2FA1747AF