A new species of Cnemaspis Strauch (Squamata: Gekkonidae) of the C. siamensis group from Tenasserim Mountains, Thailand

Abstract

An integrative taxonomic analysis recovered the new species Cnemaspis selenolagus sp. nov. of the C. siamensis group as the sister species to C. punctatonuchalis. The new species was discovered in mountain evergreen tropical forests of in Suan Phueng District of Ratchaburi Province, western Thailand. Additionally, the analysis recovered a deep genetic divergence between northern and southern clades within the C. siamensis group that occur on opposite sides of the Isthmus of Kra—a well-known biogeographic region of cladogenic turnover. The description of C. selenolagus sp. nov. brings the total number of species of Cnemaspis in Thailand to 16, 11 of which compose the C. siamensis group—a lineage endemic to the Thai-Malay Peninsula. This underscores the physiographic complexity of this narrow peninsula in that it can support a large number of closely related species in only the northern two-thirds of its length.

Hidden tribe: A new species of Stream Toad of the genus Ansonia Stoliczka, 1870 (Anura: Bufonidae) from the poorly explored mountainous borderlands of western Thailand

“…The northern Tenasserim Mountain region is nota ble for the recent discoveries of endemic amphibians and reptiles (Matsui 2006;Sumontha et al 2012Sumontha et al , 2017Wilkinson et al 2012;Connette et al 2017;Grismer et al 2016Grismer et al , 2020aGrismer et al , 2020bGrismer et al , 2020cMatsui et al 2018;Pawangkhanant et al 2018;Suwannapoom et al 2018;Lee et al 2019;Chomdej et al 2020Chomdej et al , 2021Poyarkov et al, 2020). The mountains of northern Tenasserim are recognized as one of multiple local centers of amphib ian diversity and endemism in Indochina .…”

A new rock gecko in the Cnemaspis siamensis group (Reptilia, Gekkonidae) from Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand

“…Morphological characters taken and their abbreviations were modified from recent studies of the genus Cnemaspis (Wood et al 2017;Ampai et al 2020;Grismer et al 2020). Morphological measurements were taken with digital calipers to the nearest 0.1 mm.…”

“…Sex and maturity were determined by the presence of secondary sexual characteristics, such as the presence of hemipenes or pore-bearing precloacal scales in males, the presence of calcium glands or eggs in females or sexually dimorphic colour patterns. Morphological data for comparisons were obtained from the original and expanded descriptions of other species in the C. siamensis group (Smith 1925;Grismer and Chan 2010;Grismer et al , 2014Grismer et al , 2020Wood et al 2017;Ampai et al 2019Ampai et al , 2020.…”

“…The Southeast Asian Rock Gecko genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 comprises a monophyletic clade of approximately 66 recognised species that are distributed from Laos, southern Vietnam westwards through southern Indochina, southwards through the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and eastwards to Borneo (Grismer 2010;Grismer et al 2014Grismer et al , 2020Wood et al 2017;Riyato et al 2019;Ampai et al 2020;Quah et al 2020;Nashriq et al 2022;Uetz et al 2022). Based on molecular and morphological data, Southeast Asian Cnemaspis are recovered in four major monophyletic clades that contain six species groups (Grismer et al 2014).…”

“…Based on molecular and morphological data, Southeast Asian Cnemaspis are recovered in four major monophyletic clades that contain six species groups (Grismer et al 2014). The Cnemaspis siamensis group is distributed across the Thai-Malay Peninsula and northwards to Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand (Grismer et al 2014(Grismer et al , 2020Ampai et al 2019). This group currently contains 13 named species (Grismer et al , 2014(Grismer et al , 2020Wood et al 2017;Ampai et al 2019Ampai et al , 2020 including C. adangrawi Ampai,…”