Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis, Zhou & Ang & Cui & Zhang & Shen & Li & Liu & Rao, 2025

Zhou, Hongxin, Ang, Yufan, Cui, Liangwei, Zhang, Dongru, Shen, Ziqi, Li, Xiuyan, Liu, Shuo & Rao, Dingqi, 2025, A new species of Hemiphyllodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from southeast Yunnan, China, Zootaxa 5666 (3), pp. 342-360 : 350-357

Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:94250DFE-AB5B-49D0-B08C-C6B8344A54A2

Figs 4 , 5

Holotype. KIZ2023 Z218, adult male, collected by Hongxin Zhou, Xian Zhang, Tingshun Zhou on 3 May 2023 from Dianzi Village , Guangnan County, Yunnan, China (23.966°N, 105.152°E, at an elevation of 1370 m).

Paratypes. KIZ2023 Z230, KIZ2023 Z2181, KIZ2023 Z224, KIZ2023 Z226, KIZ2023 Z221, KIZ2023 Z219, KIZ2023 Z227, adult males, KIZ2023 Z217, KIZ2023 Z225, KIZ2023 Z229, KIZ2023 Z220, KIZ2023 Z222, KIZ2023 Z223, KIZ2023 Z214, adult females, collected at the same locality as the holotype on 3 May 2023 .

Diagnosis. Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: maximum SVL of 45.62 mm; 8–10 chin scales; enlarged postmentals; 5 circumnasal scales; 1 or 2 internasal scales; 9–12 supralabial scales; 9–11 infralabial scales; 17–24 dorsal scale rows; 10–12 ventral scale rows; a manual lamellar formula of 4 (5)-5 (6)- (5-7)-4 (5) and a pedal lamellar formula of 4 (5)-5 (6)-5 (6)- (5-7); 16–23 precloacal and femoral pore-bearing scales contiguous in males; 0–2 cloacal spurs on each side; a dark postorbital stripe extending to at least base of neck; dorsolateral light–colored spots on trunk variable; dark ventrolateral stripe on trunk variable; dark dorsal transverse blotches present; and a dark postsacral mark bearing anteriorly projecting arms.

Description of holotype. Adult male, one longitudinal incision on ventral surface made for liver tissue sampling, small–sized (SVL 41.74 mm), and flattened in body shape; head triangular, elongated (HL/SVL 0.27); dorsum of head covered in granular scales, which are relatively small; five circumnasal scales, with the lower two being the rostral and the largest upper labial, while the other three are circular; two internasal scales; circular mental scale; nine chin scales touching the internal edges of the infralabials, extending from the juncture of the 2nd and 3rd infralabial scales on the left of the mental scale to the same juncture on the right (Chin); scales in the gular region are rounded, non–overlapping, becoming larger and more ovoid on the venter; snout short and narrow (SnW 1.94 mm; SnW/HL 0.25); eyes small (ED 2.90 mm); robust body shape (TrunkL/SVL 0.52); granular scales on the dorsum, with 20 scales within one eye diameter; ventral scales are flattened, with 11 scales within one eye diameter; granular scales on the limbs; Finger I is vestigial, clawless, and with rectangular subdigital lamellae, while Fingers II–V are well– developed; the proximal subdigital lamellae are undivided and rectangular, while the distal subdigital lamellae are divided, angular, U–shaped, except for the terminal lamellae, which are rounded and undivided; subdigital lamellae count 4-5-6-5 (hand) and 4-5-6-5/5-5-6-5 (foot: left/right); femoral pores and precloacal pores continuous, with a total count of 18, with a single white precloacal pore present on each side. Tail long (TL/SVL 0.91), with dorsal scales larger than those on the body and head, and smaller than the subcaudals; subcaudals are large and flat.

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Coloration in life. The dorsal surface of body is dark gray in males, while brownish-gray in females; dark stripes extend from the posterior corner of the eye socket to the neck; The dorsal surface is covered with large, scattered or regular black spots; the dorsal surfaces of the head and limbs are light gray, although in a few individuals, it transitions to dark gray; the dorsal surface of original tail is brown, with several dark transverse stripes and its ventral surface is yellow; the regenerated tail is dark gray with a few white dots; cloacal spurs are white.

Variation. Variation in mensural and meristic data is presented in Table 5 . Females tend to have darker body coloration with light-colored dots on the back, whereas males are lighter in color with dark dorsal transverse blotches.

Distribution. This species is currently known only from the type locality Dianzi Village, Guangnan County, Yunnan Province, China ( Figure 1 ).

Natural history. All samples were collected from the earthen walls of abandoned houses near karst forests in Dianzi Village. When illuminated with a flashlight, the animals quickly crawled into the crevices ( Figure 6 ).

Etymology. The scientific name “ guangnanensis ” is derived from its type locality Guangnan County in Yunnan province. We suggest Guangnan Slender Gecko in English and “Ḟ南半叶Dzṻ (Guǎng nǎn Bàn Yè Zhǐ Hǔ)” in Chinese.

Comparisons. We compared the morphology of the new species to its closely related congeners ( Table 6 ). H. guangnanensis sp. nov. differs from H. huishuiensis by its relatively longer trunk (TrunkL/SVL 0.50–0.55 versus 0.47–0.50); wider snout (SnW/HW 0.20–0.27 versus 0.14–0.17); more circumnasal scales (CN 5 versus 3); more ventral scales contained with one eye diameter (VS 10–12 versus 7–9); more dorsal scales contained with one eye diameter (DS 17–24 versus 13–15); dorsolateral light–colored spots on trunk present (versus absent); and dark dorsolateral stripe on trunk absent (versus present). H. guangnanensis sp. nov. differs from H. yanshanensis by its relatively longer trunk (TrunkL/SVL 0.50–0.55 versus 0.45–0.51); longer head (HL/SVL 0.26–0.28 versus 0.17– 0.21); thinner head (HW/SVL 0.17–0.19 versus 0.19–0.22); shorter SnEye distance (SnEye/HL 0.39–0.47 versus 0.51–0.60); shorter NarEye distance (NarEye/HL 0.25–0.31 versus 0.39–0.44); smaller eyes (ED/HL 0.23–0.26 versus 0.29–0.36); wider snout (SnW/HW 0.20–0.27 versus 0.18–0.21); greater number of ventral scales contained with one eye diameter (VS 10–12 versus 7–9); more femoroprecloacal pores (16–23 versus 10–16); and dark dorsolateral stripe on trunk absent (versus present).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus in Yunnan Province, China.

FIGURE 4. A, B Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis sp. nov. in life (A:KIZ2023Z218 B:KIZ2023Z217); C Hemiphyllodactylus yanshanensis in life; D Hemiphyllodactylus huishuiensis in life. Photo by Hongxin Zhou.

FIGURE 5. A–D Paratype (KIZ2023Z217) of Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis sp. nov.; E–H Holotype (KIZ2023Z218) of Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis sp. nov.; I–M Hemiphyllodactylus yanshanensis. Photo by Hongxin Zhou.

FIGURE 6. Habitat of Hemiphyllodactylus guangnanensis sp. nov. at Dianzi villiage, Guangnan County, Yunnan Province, China. Photo by Hongxin Zhou.