An integrative taxonomic review of the agamid genus Bronchocela (Kuhl, 1820) from Peninsular Malaysia with descriptions of new montane and insular endemics

Abstract

An integrative taxonomic analysis is used to identify and describe two new species of the agamid genus Bronchocela (Kuhl) from Peninsular Malaysia: an upland species B. shenlong sp. nov. from Bukit Larut, Perak in the Bintang Mountain Range and Parit Falls, Cameron Highlands, Pahang in the Titiwangsa Mountain Range and an insular species, B. rayaensis sp. nov., from Pulau Langkawi, Kedah off the northwest coast on the border with Thailand. Both species are diagnosed from each other and all other species of Bronchocela on the basis of body shape, scale morphology, and color pattern. The analysis also demonstrates the remarkable genetic similarity of B. cristatella (Kuhl) throughout 1120 km of its range from northern Peninsular Malaysia to western Borneo despite its highly variable coloration and pattern. The two new species are appended to a rapidly growing list of newly described lizard species (60 to date) from Peninsular Malaysia tallied within the last decade.

The amphibians and reptiles of Mindanao Island, southern Philippines, II: the herpetofauna of northeast Mindanao and adjacent islands

“…We recommend treating this species as “Data Deficient” (DD; IUCN 2016) until a formal taxonomic review using both morphological and genetic data, can be performed. We suspect Philippine populations are not conspecific with the lineage at the type locality (Java Island, Indonesia); although Taylor named Bronchocela marmorata from northern Luzon, that name most likely would not apply to the distinctive population on the Mindanao PAIC (see also: Grismer et al 2015, 2016). …”

Amphibians and reptiles from the Mt. Hamiguitan Range of eastern Mindanao Island, Philippines: new distribution records

“…Figure 4c Bronchocela cristatella was previously considered to be widely distributed in Southeast Asia and the Philippines (Hallermann 2013;Grismer et al 2015Grismer et al , 2016Zug et al 2017). At present, taxonomic issues plague the understanding of Philippine populations (see Brown et al 2012Brown et al , 2013b.…”

Resurrection of Bronchocela burmana Blanford, 1878 for the Green Crested Lizard (Squamata, Agamidae) of southern Myanmar

“…This species continues to be the most commonly recognized Bronchocela owing to its broad distribution from Peninsular Malaysia to the Philippines and into the Lesser Sunda Islands (Grismer et al 2015). The first mention of a Bronchocela in Burma (Myanmar) was in 1878 by Blanford.…”

“…We likely would have labeled these specimens as Bronchocela cristatella without examining them closely if part of the survey did not also include mtDNA barcoding of all collected specimens. When additional sequence data (ND2) indicated that the Lenya specimens were not closely related to Bronchocela cristatella , instead to the recently described Bronchocela rayaensis (Grismer et al, 2015) from Pulau Langkawi, northwestern Peninsular Malaysia and Phuket Island, Thailand (Grismer et al 2016), we decided to make a morphological comparison as well.…”

“…We generated mtDNA sequence data (ND2) that demonstrates that this population’s nearest relative is Bronchocela rayaensis Grismer et al, 2015 of Pulau Langkawi, northwestern Peninsular Malaysia and Phuket Island. Morphologically the Burmese Bronchocela shares many features with Bronchocela rayaensis , which potentially would make this recently described Thai-Malay species a synonym of Bronchocela burmana Blanford, 1878; however, we interpret the genetic and morphological differences to reflect evolutionary divergence and recommend the recognition of both species.…”