taxonID	type	description	language	source
2ABB8647F0B05CD3839319702E112382.taxon	description	Figs 4, 5, 6, 7	en	Ma, Shun, Shi, Sheng-Chao, Shen, Cheng, Chang, Li-Ming, Jiang, Jian-Ping (2024): Discovery of a new species of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China: the best Japonigekko mountaineer. ZooKeys 1215: 289-309, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1215.125043
2ABB8647F0B05CD3839319702E112382.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. (1) body size moderate, SVL 56.44 – 74.16 mm in adults; (2) head relatively narrow, HW / HL 0.51 – 0.79; (3) midbody scale rows 92 – 114, 98 – 114 in males and 92 – 106 in females; (4) interorbital scales between anterior corners of the eyes 22 – 28; (5) ventral scale rows 32 – 39; (6) tubercles present on dorsal body, forelimbs, hindlimbs and tails; (7) precloacal pores 4 – 7 in males and absent in the females; (8) subdigital lamellae on first finger 8 – 11, on fourth finger 12 – 14, on first toe 8 – 11, on fourth toe 12 – 15, no webbing between the fingers and toes; (9) ventral scales between mental and cloacal slit 158 – 189; (10) nares in contact with rostral; (11) postcloacal tubercles one or two; (12) dorsal surface of body with six or seven large dark taupe bands between nape and sacrum.	en	Ma, Shun, Shi, Sheng-Chao, Shen, Cheng, Chang, Li-Ming, Jiang, Jian-Ping (2024): Discovery of a new species of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China: the best Japonigekko mountaineer. ZooKeys 1215: 289-309, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1215.125043
2ABB8647F0B05CD3839319702E112382.taxon	description	Description of holotype. (Figs 3, 4) An adult male, moderate size, SVL 74.16 mm; body slender and trunk relatively elongate (AGD / SVL 0.37); tail little broken at end, TaL 68.02 mm, slightly shorter than SVL. Head depressed (HH / HL 0.37), length longer than width (HL / HW), distinct from neck. Snout rounded at top, elongate (SL / HL 0.41 / 0.42), larger than eye (SL / ED 1.75 / 1.80); rostral irregular polygon, wider than high (RW / RH 1.74) and slightly narrower than mental (RW / MW 0.95); rostral groove absent; rostral in contact with nostril, first supralabial and nasorostral; nares oval, touching rostral, first supralabial three nasals (nasorostral, supranasal, postnasal); one small internasal; snout region medially concave; preorbitals 12 / 12, preorbital region deeply concave; eye large (ED / HL 0.24 / 0.23), pupil vertical with crenulated margins; interorbital scales between anterior corners of eyes 27; ear opening oval, obliquely oriented, much smaller than eye (EOD / ED = 0.27 / 0.26); mental pentagon, width more than length (MW / ML = 0.73); two enlarged postmentals, hexagonal, twice as long as wide; postmentals in contact with mental and first infralabials anteriorly and five gular scales posteriorly; supralabials 11 / 11; infralabials 10 / 10; tubercles absent on dorsal head, granulars on anteriodorsal head larger than those on posterior. Dorsal scales on body smooth, round or oval, granular, juxtaposed; dorsal tubercles 3 – 4 times the size of dorsal scales, smooth, round to oval, convex, surrounded by 8 – 10 dorsal scales; dorsal tubercles extending from occiput region to base of tail; tubercles in 15 regular rows at midbody; ventrolateral fold weakly developed, without tubercles; ventrals distinctly larger than dorsal scales, smooth, imbricate and largest in middle of belly; ventral scale rows at midbody 33; scale rows around mid-body 114; ventral scales in a row between mental and cloacal slit 165; precloacal scales enlarged, but no enlarged scales on thighs; precloacal pores seven, in a continuous row. Forelimbs and hindlimbs well developed, tubercles on fore and hind limbs are present, moderately long, slender; forearm and tibia moderately long, forearm shorter than tibia; digits moderately expanded, both first finger and first toe, clawless, others remaining digits clawed; webbing on fingers and toes absent; subdigital lamellae unnotched and undivided: 10 / 10 - 9 / 10 - 11 / 10 - 13 / 13 - 11 / 11 (manus) and 11 / 10 - 11 / 10 - 12 / 12 - 15 / 14 - 13 / 13 (pes). Relative length of fingers: IV> III> V> II> I; relative length of toes: IV> III> V> II> I. Tail oval in section, swollen at base, gradually tapering; postcloacal tubercle 1 / 1, obviously large on tail base side; dorsal scales small, flat, smooth, with dorsal tubercles at the tail base dorsum; ventral scales much larger than dorsal, smooth, and imbricated, with enlarged subcaudal plates arranged into a longitudinal row formed ~ 1 / 6 TaL distance from the cloaca.	en	Ma, Shun, Shi, Sheng-Chao, Shen, Cheng, Chang, Li-Ming, Jiang, Jian-Ping (2024): Discovery of a new species of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China: the best Japonigekko mountaineer. ZooKeys 1215: 289-309, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1215.125043
2ABB8647F0B05CD3839319702E112382.taxon	distribution	Distribution and habits. Gekko alpinus sp. nov. is currently known only from the Jinsha River Basin between the border of Mangkang County, Xizang Autonomous Region and Batang County, Sichuan Province, China, at elevations ranging from 2400 to 2542 meters above sea level. This new species is nocturnal and inhabits shrubs or dry rocky cliffs in the arid Jinsha River valley, as well as on building walls (Fig. 7). Ants, discovered in the gut of one specimen, are among the recorded food choices of this species.	en	Ma, Shun, Shi, Sheng-Chao, Shen, Cheng, Chang, Li-Ming, Jiang, Jian-Ping (2024): Discovery of a new species of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China: the best Japonigekko mountaineer. ZooKeys 1215: 289-309, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1215.125043
2ABB8647F0B05CD3839319702E112382.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific name alpinus is derived from Latin, alpinus, - a, - um, meaning from Alpēs (“ the Alps ”) + - īnus, of or pertaining to the Alps, alpine. This refers to the “ great high mountains ”, referring to not only its distribution range in the great high Hengduan Mountains, but also the highest distribution elevation for all currently known Japonigekko species. The suggested common English name is “ Alpine Gecko ” and the Chinese name is “ 高山壁虎 ” (Gāo Shān Bì Hŭ).	en	Ma, Shun, Shi, Sheng-Chao, Shen, Cheng, Chang, Li-Ming, Jiang, Jian-Ping (2024): Discovery of a new species of the subgenus Japonigekko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Gekko) from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China: the best Japonigekko mountaineer. ZooKeys 1215: 289-309, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1215.125043
