taxonID	type	description	language	source
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	description	Figs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Tables 4, 5, 6	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific name “ tesselatus ” is a Latinized adjective in the nominative singular (masculine gender), derived from “ tessella ” (a small square tile), and means “ reticulated ” or “ checkerboard-like. ” It refers to the characteristic dorsal pattern of the new species, which consists of a series of irregular dark transverse bands that are faintly interrupted medially by a narrow vertebral line and, laterally, are partly fragmented and partly interconnected, forming an irregular, checkerboard-like reticulated pattern across the dorsum. For the common names, we suggest “ Checkered Gecko ” in English and “ Bān Wén Bì Hǔ ” (斑纹壁虎) in Chinese.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Gekko tesselatus sp. nov. can be diagnosed from other Japonigekko species by the following unique combination of characters: (1) a moderate body size (SVL reaches up to 64.9 mm in males and 72.9 mm in females); (2) nares in contact with the rostral, internasal 0 or 1; (3) two enlarged postmentals, rarely one; (4) flattened dorsal tubercles present from the posterior head through the neck to the anterior portion of the tail, arranged in 12 – 15 rows at midbody; (5) 130 – 157 ventral scales between the mental and the cloacal slit; (6) 98 – 106 midbody scale rows; (7) 31 – 39 ventral scale rows; (8) subdigital lamellae 7 – 10 on finger I, 9 – 12 on finger IV, 7 – 9 on toe I, and 9 – 12 on toe IV; (9) webbing absent; (10) 6 – 8 precloacal pores in males, absent in females; (11) one postcloacal tubercle on each side, rarely two; (12) in life, the dorsum is predominantly greyish brown, with a series of irregular dark transverse bands that are faintly interrupted medially by a narrow vertebral stripe and laterally fragmented and interconnected, forming an irregular, checkerboard-like reticulated pattern.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	description	Description of the holotype. (Fig. 3). An adult male specimen with original tail. Size medium, SVL 61.4 mm; body slender and trunk relatively elongate, AGD 29.0 mm, AGD / SVL ratio 0.47; tail slightly longer than body, distinctly swollen at base, oval in section, TAL 72.3 mm, TAL / SVL ratio 1.19. Head depressed, noticeably longer than wide, and clearly separated from the neck, HL 17.09 mm, HW 12.31 mm, HH 5.00 mm, HH / HL ratio 0.29, HL / HW ratio 1.39. Snout obtuse, round anteriorly, ESD 7.14 mm, ESD / HL ratio 0.42. Eye large, ED 3.89 mm, ED / HL ratio 0.23; pupil vertical, featuring crenulated edges. Ear opening small, approximately elliptical, obliquely oriented, EL 1.12 mm, EL / ED ratio 0.29. Rostral approximately rectangular in shape, wider than the high, RW 2.31 mm, RH 1.46 mm, RW / RH ratio 1.58. Nares oval, rounded by the rostral, 1 st supralabial, one distinctly enlarged supranasal, and three slightly enlarged nasals posteriorly; internasals absent. Preorbitals 18 / 17, preorbital region deeply concave; interorbital scales between the anterior corners of eyes 24; supralabials 10 / 10; infralabials 9 / 9. Mental pentagonal, wider than long, MW 1.80, ML 1.42, MW / ML ratio 1.27; mental narrower than the rostral, RW / MW ratio 1.28; postmentals two, enlarged, twice as long as wide, touching the mental and the first infralabial on both sides and three gular scales posteriorly. Tubercles present on the dorsal surface of the head behind the eyes; granular scales on the anterodorsal region of the head are larger than those on the posterior region. Dorsal scales smooth, round to oval, granular, and juxtaposed; tubercles flattened, irregularly arranged, extending from the posterior part of the head to the anterior one-third of the tail, forming approximately 14 rows at midbody, surrounded by 8 – 9 dorsal scales. Ventrolateral fold present, without tubercles; ventrals slightly larger than dorsals, smooth, imbricate, and largest in middle of belly; ventral scale rows at midbody 36; scale rows around midbody 106; ventral scales in a row between mental and cloacal slit 138; precloacal scales enlarged, but no enlarged scales on thighs; precloacal pores 6 (Fig. 4 A), situated at the distal of each scale, the tips of the two central scales are slightly inclined laterally, separating the precloacal pores at the midline into two groups (3 / 3); postcloacal tubercle 1 / 1 (Fig. 5 A), large, surrounded by several smaller tubercles delineated by shallow grooves. Dorsal scales of tail flat and smooth, irregular in size, with a few tubercles present on the anterior one-third of the tail; subcaudals small at the base, distinctly enlarged beyond the swollen portion, and arranged in a longitudinal row. Forelimbs and hindlimbs well developed; dorsal surface of forelimbs without tubercles, but dorsal surface of hindlimbs bearing tubercles; no webbing between the fingers and toes; digits moderately dilated; fingers and toes II – IV clawed; claws laterally compressed, extending beyond the terminal lamellae; no webbing between fingers and toes; subdigital lamellae undivided, under manus 7 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 9 (left) / 7 - 8 - 9 - 11 - 9 (right), and under pes 8 - 8 - 10 - 11 - 8 (left) / 8 - 8 - 11 - 11 - 10 (right); relative length of fingers and toes I <II <V <III <IV.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	description	Main characters of the pattern in life. (Fig. 7). In life, the coloration of the paratypes resembles that of the holotype. The dorsal surface of the body consists of 7 – 10 irregular dark transverse bands, which are faintly interrupted along the midline by a narrow vertebral line. Laterally, these bands are partly fragmented and partly interconnected, forming an irregular, checkerboard-like reticulated pattern across the dorsum. The dorsal surface of the tail (based only on original tail specimens) bears 11 – 14 relatively regular dark transverse bands, forming distinct annulations. The ventral surface of the body is uniformly creamy white, while the ventral surface of the tail is pale yellowish-white.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	description	Main characters of the pattern in preservation. (Fig. 8). In preservative, the dorsal ground color of the head, body, and limbs turns grey or greyish-white, with the yellowish-brown spots on the dorsum disappearing, while the dark brown markings remain distinct; the ventral surface fades to greyish-white.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
642BA4D09D0C57A9AC3FCDC3F3AFCF72.taxon	distribution	Distribution and habitat. Gekko tesselatus sp. nov. is currently known only from its type locality, Se’ergu Town, Heishui County, northwestern Sichuan Province, China. All individuals were collected at night from rocky slopes within a hot-dry valley covered with low shrubs and grasses, at elevations between 1,827 m and 2,047 m, where nighttime temperatures remained above 26 ° C (Fig. 9 A, B). Field observations indicate that this species shows a strong preference for heavily weathered rock faces with abundant crevices (Fig. 9 C). Individuals were usually hiding in crevices more than two meters above the ground, with scattered feces observed nearby. By contrast, on less weathered slopes with few crevices, individuals were rarely encountered. The highest altitude at which specimens were collected was 2,047 m, where only a single individual was found despite the high degree of rock weathering. No traces of the species were detected at higher elevations, suggesting that its actual altitudinal range may not exceed 2,100 m. The lower temperatures at higher elevations are likely unsuitable for its survival. In addition, the species appears to be poorly adapted to anthropogenically modified environments. Although some collection sites were located close to villages, no individuals were observed around human dwellings. Within the same habitat, we also recorded Lycodon multizonatus (Zhao & Jiang, 1981), which may represent one of the principal natural predators of Gekko tesselatus sp. nov. (Fig. 9 D).	en	Xu, Yuhao, Ma, Shun, Cai, Bo, Qi, Shuo, Matsukoji, Tomoya, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Sun, Fanyue, Weng, Shiyang, Gu, Tianxuan, Tian, Kaidi, Zhang, Di, Jiang, Jianping, Peng, Lifang (2025): A new rock-dwelling gecko of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from northwestern Sichuan Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2221-2242, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175246
