Cyrtodactylus pyinyaungensis, Grismer & Wood & Jr. & Thura & Zin & Quah & Murdoch & Grismer & Lin & Kyaw & Lwin, 2018

Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Jr., Thura, Myint Kyaw, Zin, Thaw, Quah, Evan S. H., Murdoch, Matthew L., Grismer, Marta S., Lin, Aung, Kyaw, Htet & Lwin, Ngwe, 2018, Twelve new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from isolated limestone habitats in east-central and southern Myanmar demonstrate high localized diversity and unprecedented microendemism, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182, pp. 862-959 : 877-881

FAMILY GEKKONIDAE GRAY, 1825 GENUS CYRTODACTYLUS GRAY, 1827 CYRTODACTYLUS PYINYAUNGENSIS SP. NOV. PYINYAUNG BENT-TOED GECKO

( FIG. 13; TABLE 6)

Holotype: Adult male LSUHC 13149 collected on 30 March 2017 at 1030 h by Myint Kyaw Thura, Htet Kyaw, Myint Kyaw Lin, Mathhew L. Murdoch, Marta S. Grismer and L. Lee Grismer from 5.7 km north of Pyinyaung Village at the Apache Cement factory mining site, Mandalay Region, Myanmar (N20°52.191, E96°24.296; 472 m in elevation).

Paratypes: Adult female BYU 52234 collected on 12 October 2016 at 1030 h by Evan S. H. Quah, Perry L. Wood, Jr., Matthew L. Murdoch, Myint Kyaw Thura, Thaw Zin, Aung Lin, Htet Kyaw and L. Lee Grismer from 5.3 km north of Pyinyaung Village at the Apache Cement factory mining site, Mandalay Region, Myanmar (N20°52.191, E96°24.296; 642 m in elevation). Adult female LSUHC 13150 and adult male LSUHC 13149 bear the same collection data as the holotype. Adult female 13147 bears the same collection as the holotype except that it was collected on 29 March 2017 .

Diagnosis: Cyrtodactylus pyinyaungensis sp. nov. differs from all congeners by having the unique combination of 25–30 paravertebral tubercles; 15–18 longitudinal rows of body tubercles; 30–36 ventral scales; relatively short digits ( Fig. 3) with 16–19 subdigital lamellae beneath the fourth toe; raised to moderately keeled body tubercles; no caudal tubercles; enlarged femoral scales; femoral pores in males; relatively narrow subcaudal scales; top of head bearing large, irregularly shaped, dark markings

Abbreviations are listed in the Material and Methods.

Abbreviations are listed in the Material and Methods.

Abbreviations are listed in the Material and Methods.

Abbreviations are listed in the Material and Methods. R, right; L, left; /, data unobtainable or not applicable.

and lacking a light-coloured reticulum; nuchal loop not divided medially, lacking an anterior azygous notch, posterior border straight; five or six dark dorsal bands arranged as medially confluent, large, hourglass-shaped, paravertebral markings, wider than interspaces, lacking lightened centres and edged with white tubercles; no dark markings or white tubercles in dorsal interspaces; weak ventrolateral fold and anterodorsal margin of thighs and brachia pigmented; 9–13 dark and light caudal bands; white caudal bands immaculate, not encircling tail; and dark caudal bands wider than white caudal bands.

Description of holotype: Adult male SVL 58.6 mm; head moderate in length (HL/SVL 0.29), wide (HW/HL 0.62), flat (HD/HL 0.37), distinct from neck, triangular in dorsal profile; lores inflated, prefrontal region concave, canthus rostralis rounded; snout moderate (ES/HL 0.37), rounded in dorsal profile; eye large (ED/HL 0.25); ear opening elliptical, obliquely oriented, moderate in size (EL/HL 0.11); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye; rostral rectangular, partially divided by dorsal furrow, bordered posteriorly by large left and right supranasals, smaller postrostral, laterally by first supralabials; external nares bordered anteriorly by rostral, anterodorsally by large supranasal, posteriorly by three small postnasals, ventrally by first supralabial in point contact; 8(R,L) square to rectangular supralabials extending to below midpoint of eye, fourth supralabial largest; 6(R,L) infralabials tapering smoothly posteriorly; scales of rostrum and lores flat, larger than granular scales on top of head and occiput; scales on top of head and occiput intermixed with slightly enlarged tubercles; dorsal superciliaries rectangular, smooth; mental triangular, bordered laterally by first infralabials and posteriorly by large, left and right trapezoidal postmentals that contact medially for 60% of their length posterior to mental; one row of slightly enlarged chinshields extending posteriorly to fourth infralabial; and gular and throat scales small, granular to subimbricate, grading posteriorly into larger, flatter, smooth, imbricate, pectoral and ventral scales.

Body relatively short (AG/SVL 0.44) with weak ventrolateral folds in life; dorsal scales small, interspersed with small, raised, subconical, semi-regularly arranged weakly keeled tubercles; tubercles extend from occiput onto base of tail but no farther; tubercles on occiput and nape very small, those on posterior portion of body larger, more strongly keeled; approximately 16 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles; 30 paravertebral tubercles; approximately 31 flat, imbricate, ventral scales larger than dorsal scales; eight pore-bearing precloacal scales; two rows of large post-precloacal scales; and no deep precloacal groove or depression.

Forelimbs moderate in stature, relatively short (FL/ SVL 0.16); flat scales of forearm larger than those on body, not interspersed with tubercles; palmar scales rounded, slightly raised; digits well-developed, relatively short, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; digits slightly narrower distal to inflections; claws well-developed, sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale; hindlimbs more robust than forelimbs, moderate in length (TBL/SVL 0.17), covered dorsally by granular scales interspersed with large, conical, keeled tubercles and anteriorly by flat, slightly larger scales; ventral scales of femora flat, imbricate, larger than dorsals, 8(R)9(L) pore-bearing femoral scales; 9(R)11(L) enlarged femoral scales not continuous with enlarged precloacal scales; small postfemoral scales form an abrupt union with large, flat ventral scales of posteroventral margin of thigh; subtibial scales flat, imbricate; plantar scales low, flat; digits relatively short, well-developed, inflected at basal, interphalangeal joints; 6(R)7(L) small, unmodified, subdigital lamellae proximal to joint inflection on fourth toe; 13(R,L) slightly larger subdigital lamellae distal to inflection including the large subinflection scale and the ventral claw sheath; and claws well-developed, base of claw sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale.

Tail moderate in proportions, 5.9 mm in width at base, tapering to a point, first 35 mm of tail original, last 27 mm regenerated; dorsal scales of base of tail granular rapidly becoming flatter posteriorly; median row of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales twice as wide as long, not extending onto lateral margin of tail; two enlarged postcloacal tubercles on both sides of base of tail; and postcloacal scales flat.

Coloration in life ( Fig. 13): Dorsal ground colour of head body, limbs and tail yellow; dark, transverse bar present on rostrum; top of head bearing a large, dark-brown, irregularly shaped, smoothly edged chevron followed by a large medial spot; labial regions white, forming a distinct line of demarcation between them and a darkly coloured rostrum; wide, dark-brown, nuchal loop extending discontinuously from posterior border of one eye to the other, bearing a straight posterior border, no anterior, azygous notch; wide, dark-brown, band on neck beginning and ending just posterior to ear openings followed by four, wide, dorsal hourglass-shaped bands arranged as medially confluent, large, paravertebral ellipses; bands wider than interspaces, lacking lightened centres, edged with bright-yellow tubercles; one hourglass-shaped post-sacral band; generally no dark markings or white tubercles in interspaces; lower flanks bearing a row of large, dark-brown, circular markings edged in yellow; weak ventrolateral fold, anterodorsal margins of thigh and brachia pigmented not whitish; limbs bearing dark, irregularly shaped bands; four dark and five light caudal bands on original position of tail; light caudal bands immaculate not encircling tail; dark caudal bands wider than light caudal bands; regenerated portion of tail gray bearing darker, irregular markings; and all ventral surfaces generally immaculate.

Variation ( Fig. S2): The paratypes closely approximate the holotype in all aspects of coloration and pattern. BYU 52234 and 13147 tend to have a more white than yellow ground colour. The posterior body bands of LSUHC 13150 are more obliquely oriented. The interspaces and light areas on the top of the head in LSUHC 13147 are less immaculate. Meristic differences are listed in Table 6.

Distribution: Cyrtodactylus pyinyaungensis sp. nov. is known only from the type locality 5.3 km north of Pyinyaung Village, Mandalay Region ( Fig. 2) and the adjacent hills in the Sai Taung Range 2.5 km directly east. It is presumed C. pyinyaungensis sp. nov. ranges much farther in all directions through the hilly lowlands of this region.

Etymology: The specific epithet, pyinyaungensis (pronounced pin-yong-ensis), is a noun in apposition in reference to the type locality.

Natural history: The holotype and the paratypes (LSUHC 13147–48, 13150) were collected in highly disturbed habitats in a low range of mudstone hills ( Fig. 14). The area was being burned at the time of collection and the small fires throughout these hills and the surrounding hills will burn for months until the onset of the monsoon season in early to mid-June.