[Herpetology • 2019] Cnemaspis muria • Hiding in Plain Sight on Gunung Muria: A New Species and First Record of Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887; Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Java, Indonesia

Cnemaspis muria 

Riyanto, Munir, Martamenggala, Fitriana & Hamidy, 2019

 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4608.1.9 

Abstract

We describe a new species of rock gecko of the genus Cnemaspis from Java, Indonesia, representing the first record of the genus for this Island. The new species was collected from the southern slopes of Gunung Muria, a dormant volcano in Central Java. The new species is easily distinguished from all congeners by having a maximum SVL of 58.1 mm in males and 56.9 mm in females; a pair of sharp conical tubercle clusters on the occiput; a warty bridge on the nuchal loop, extending from the upper tympanum and curving to the nape; dorsal tubercles not linearly arranged; 18–20 paravertebral tubercles; postmentals separated by one scale; gular, pectoral and abdominal scales, ventral scales of fore- and hindlimbs, and subcaudal scales keeled; no tubercles on lower flank; precloacal and femoral pores absent; enlarged submetacarpal scales present on the first digit of the manus; 38–40 ventral scales; 31–35 lamellae under fourth toe; two postcloacal tubercles on each side; enlarged median subcaudal scales row present; caudal tubercles encircling tail; and a sexually dimorphic ventral color pattern, with males having a yellow belly and females white and the ventral surface of the tail in males yellow proximally changing to white at mid-length, whereas in females, alternating black and white rings completely encircle the tail, which is black distally.

Keywords: Reptilia, Central Java, Cnemaspis, first record, Mount Muria, new species

FIGURE 3. Close up of the head of Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. showing a pair of sharpe conical tubercles clustered on the occiput (yellow arrows) and nuchal loop bearing a bridge of warts in a curved line from the upper tympanum to the nape (red arrows). Photo by A. Riyanto.

Cnemaspis muria sp.nov. 

Muria Rock Gecko 

Cicak Batu Gunung Muria

Holotype. MZB. Lace. 14571 (Fig. 2A), an adult male from the river bank at Gunung Muria, Kajar (village), Dawe (District), Kudus (Regency), Jawa Tengah (Province), Indonesia (...; elevation 599 m asl), collected on 11 August 2018 by Awal Riyanto, Misbahul Munir, Rubby Alfian, Lianita Rarasandy and Rega D. Ganiarta. 

Diagnosis. Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. differs from its congeners in Southeast Asian by the following combination characters: (1) maximum SVL of at least 58.1 mm in males and 56.9 mm in females, (2) a pair of sharpe conical tubercle clusters on occiput, (3) nuchal loop bearing a bridge of warts from the upper tympanum to the nape and made in a curved line, (4) dorsal tubercles not linearly arranged, (5) 18–20 paravertebral tubercles, (6) postmental separated by a single scale, (7) gular, pectoral, abdominal, subantebrachial, subbrachial, subfemoral, subtibial and subcaudal scales keeled, (8) no tubercles on lower flank, (9) both precloacal and femoral pores absent, (10) enlarged submetacarpal scales present at the base of first finger, (11) enlarged submetatarsal present at the base of first toe , (12) 38–40 ventral scales, (13) 31–35 lamellae under fourth toe, (14) two postcloacal tubercles on each side, (15) enlarged median subcaudal scale row present, (16) caudal tubercles encircling tail, (17) sexually dimorphic in color pattern: males with a yellow belly and the proximal subcaudal surfaces yellow becoming white distally, female with a white belly with proximal subcaudal surface of alternating white and black rings and black coloration distally.

FIGURE 2. Types specimens of Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. A. Holotype (MZB.Lace.14571), male. B. Paratype (MZB. Lace.14564), female. C. Paratype (MZB.Lace.14572), male. Photos A and C by A. Riyanto, B by A. I. S. Martamenggala.

Etymology. The specific epithet muria is a noun in apposition and refers to Gunung Muria, the type locality of this species, and so far, the only known locality for the genus Cnemaspis in Java. 

Distribution. Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. is only known from its type locality, in the southern foothills of Gunung Muria, a dormant volcano 1602 m in maximum elevation, located in the center of the Muria Peninsula of northern Central Java (Jawa Tengah). Gunung Muria represents the first, and so far, the only known locality for the genus Cnemaspis in Java (Fig. 7). 

Natural history. Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. is a scansorial species known only from large granite rock microhabitats along rivers and coffee plantations (Fig. 8) on the southern slope of Gunung Muria at middle elevations, between 560 and 599 m. The holotype was caught at night, hanging on a tree root, 2 m above a dry river bank. The paratypes MZB. Lace. 14564 and MZB. Lace. 14572 were also caught at night, whereas the other paratypes were caught during the day hanging on shaded crevices of rocks. MZB. Lace. 14572 and four another specimens not collected were found foraging on rock walls, and sympatric with Cyrtodactylus sp.

 The habitat type of Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. in Kajar village, Dawe District, Kudus Regency in Gunung Muria. (A) Large rocks in a small river. 

 The habitat type of Cnemaspis muria sp. nov. in Kajar village, Dawe District, Kudus Regency in Gunung Muria. (B) Large rock in a coffee plantation.

Photo by A. I. S. Martamenggala.

Awal Riyanto, Misbahul Munir, Andri I. S. Martamenggala, Yuli Sulistya Fitriana and Amir Hamidy. 2019. Hiding in Plain Sight on Gunung Muria: A New Species and First Record of Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887; Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Java, Indonesia. Zootaxa. 4608(1);155–173.  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4608.1.9

      

[Herpetology • 2018] Cyrtodactylus tanahjampea • A New Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Island of Tanahjampea, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Cyrtodactylus tanahjampea

Riyanto, Hamidy & McGuire, 2018

 DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4442.1.6 

Abstract

The recent description of Cyrtodactylus tahuna from Sangihe Island and descriptions of other new species from remote islands in the Indo-Australian Archipelago indicate the important role of oceanic dispersal and isolation in the evolution and diversification of the genus Cyrtodactylus. We provide another example involving Tanahjampea Island, a remote island 155 km south of the Southwestern Peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here, we describe a new species on the basis of 11 specimens collected from that island. This new species is an intermediate sized Cyrtodactylus with a snout–vent length of up to 76.1 mm in adult males and 72.8 mm in females. It is easily distinguished from all recognized species occurring on Sulawesi as well as in the Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands by the following unique combination of characters: (1) brachium and antebrachium tuberculated, (2) ventrolateral folds with tubercles, (3) 20–23 irregularly aligned rows of keeled tubercles, (4) 31–34 paravertebral tubercles, (5) 29–34 ventral scales between ventrolateral folds, (6) no precloacal depression, (7) enlarged precloacofemoral scales in continuous series, (8) males with 20–24 precloacofemoral pores in wide Ʌ-shape, (9) enlarged post precloacal scales present, (10) 19–21 fourth toe subdigital lamellae, (11) enlarged transversely median subcaudals absent, (12) tail not prehensile, (13) tubercles extend along 71% of original tail length, and (14) the original tails reaching 147% of snout–vent length. We also provide an identification key to the bent toed gecko species that occur in the Wallacea region.

Keywords: Reptilia, oceanic dispersal, isolation, evolution, diversification

Awal Riyanto, Amir Hamidy and Jimmy A. McGuire. 2018. A New Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Island of Tanahjampea, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Zootaxa. 4442(1); 122–136. DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4442.1.6

[Herpetology • 2017] Cyrtodactylus tambora • A New Small Bent-toed Gecko of the Genus Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Lower Slopes of Mount Tambora, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia

 Cyrtodactylus tambora  

Riyanto, Mulyadi, McGuire, Kusrini, Febylasmia, Basyir & Kaiser, 2017 

  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4242.3.5 

Abstract

We describe the sixth species of bent-toed gecko from the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. This species was first collected on the banks of the Oi Marai River on the low northern slopes of Gunung (Mount) Tambora on Sumbawa Island. The new species is differentiated from Greater Sunda Islands (including Sulawesi) and Lesser Sunda Islands congeners by having the following unique combination of characters: (1) two scales between the second pair of postmentals in contact with the first pair; (2) dorsal surface of antebrachium tuberculate; (3) no tubercles on dorsal surface of brachium; (4) dorsal surfaces of thigh and crus tuberculate; (5) 18 irregularly aligned, longitudinal rows of keeled tubercles at midbody; (6) 26–27 paravertebral tubercles; (7) 40 ventral scales between indistinct ventrolateral folds; (8) 16–17 fourth-toe subdigital scales; (9) a continuous enlarged precloacal and femoral scales present, with the enlarged femoral scales arranged in three rows; (10) males with five to six precloacal pores, with four larger pores situated in a short groove; (11) femoral pores absent in both sexes; (12) lack of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; and (13) 7–9 irregular, paired black blotches on the body.

Keywords: Reptilia, Gekkonidae, Cyrtodactylus, new species, Lesser Sunda Archipelago, Tambora, Sumbawa, Indonesia

 Cyrtodactylus tambora sp. nov., 
Photographs in life of an adult male holotype (MZB.Lace.13298) from the northern slopes of Mount Tambora, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.

  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4242.3.5 

Cyrtodactylus tambora sp.nov.
English common name: Tambora Bent-toed Gecko
Indonesian common name: Cicak Jari-Lengkung Tambora

Etymology. The species name tambora is a noun used in apposition. It is used not only to identify the collection locality, but also to commemorate the large eruption of Gunung Tambora in 1815, which no doubt significantly realigned the local natural world on its slopes.


Riyanto, Awal, Mulyadi, Jimmy A. McGuire, Mirza D. Kusrini, Febylasmia, Irfan H. Basyir & Hinrich Kaiser. 2017. A New Small Bent-toed Gecko of the Genus Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Lower Slopes of Mount Tambora, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.
Zootaxa. 4242(3); 517–528.  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4242.3.5

[Herpetology • 2016] Cyrtodactylus hitchi • A New Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Mekongga Mountains, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia

Cyrtodactylus hitchi 

Riyanto, Kurniati & Engilis, 2016 
 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4109.1.5

Abstract

We describe Cyrtodactylus hitchi sp. nov., a new species of Bent-toed Gecko from montane forests in the Mekongga Mountains, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia. Although we cannot speculate about relationships, morphologically it shares several traits with C. batik, a large species known only from Mount Tompotika near the tip of Sulawesi’s Eastern Peninsula. The following unique combination of characters distinguishes it from all other congeners: absence of precloacal groove, absence of precloacal and femoral pores, absence of enlarged femoral scales, no abrupt contact between large and small postfemoral scales, 18–20 lamellae under the fourth toes, and transversely enlarged, median subcaudal scales arranged in a single row.

Keywords: new species, Cyrtodactylus, Gekkonidae, Mekongga, Sulawesi, Indonesia, Reptilia

Cyrtodactylus hitchi sp. nov. Riyanto, Kurniati & Engilis

English common name: Hitch’s Bent-toed Gecko

Indonesia common name: Cicak Jari Lengkung Hitch

Diagnosis. A small-sized Cyrtodactylus with SVL up to 70.3 mm in males, 79.0 mm in females; 18–20 irregularly aligned rows of keeled tubercles; 27–30 paravertebral tubercles; 40–45 ventral scales between ventrolateral folds; ventrolateral folds with tubercles; no precloacal groove; no precloacal pores; no enlarged femoral and precloacal scales; no femoral pores; 18–20 lamellae beneath fourth toe; smooth transition between rows of large and small postfemoral and ventral femoral scales; and greatly enlarged transverse median subcaudal scales arranged in a single row.

Natural History. All specimens were collected from secondary forest in various microhabitats such as on vegetation along streams, along rivers and foot paths, and on tree trunks and fallen logs (Fig. 7). Cyrtodactylus hitchi appears to have a relatively narrow elevational range corresponding to hill forest habitat ranging from 900–1100 m asl. We did not encounter the species above 1200 m asl and below 900 m asl. It is replaced below 500 m by C. jellesmae.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in the genitive singular case, honoring Dr. Alan Thomas Hitch for his friendship and as the field leader of expeditions to the Mekongga. 

Awal Riyanto, Hellen Kurniati and Andrew Engilis, Jr. 2016. A New Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Mekongga Mountains, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia.
 Zootaxa. 4109(1);  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4109.1.5

ResearchGate.net/publication/301890044_A_new_Bent-toed_gecko_Squamata_Gekkonidae_from_the_Mekongga_Mountains_South_East_Sulawesi_Indonesia