Cà Ná Marbled Gecko | Gekko canaensis Ngo & Gamble, 2011
Gekko canaensis sp. nov. A: Holotype UNS 0538 in situ; B: paratype UNS 0539 showing a light color;
Abstract
A new species of Gekko Laurenti 1768 is described from southern Vietnam. The species is distinguished from its congeners by its moderate size: SVL to maximum 108.5 mm, dorsal pattern of five to seven white vertebral blotches between nape and sacrum and six to seven pairs of short white bars on flanks between limb insertions, 1–4 internasals, 30–32 ventral scale rows between weak ventrolateral folds, 14–18 precloacal pores in males, 10–14 longitudinal rows of smooth dorsal tubercles, 14–16 broad lamellae beneath digit I of pes, 17–19 broad lamellae beneath digit IV of pes, and a single transverse row of enlarged tubercles along the posterior portion of dorsum of each tail segment.
Key words: Cà Ná Cape, description, Gekko, Gekko canaensis sp. nov., Gekkonidae, granitic outcrop, Vietnam
Introduction
Members of the Gekko petricolus Taylor 1962 species group (sensu Panitvong et al. 2010) are rock-dwelling specialists occurring in southeastern Indochina. The group as currently described consists of eight described species:
Gekko badenii Szczerbak & Nekrasova 1994; Gekko grossmanni Günther 1994; Gekko lauhachindai Panitvong et al. 2010; Gekko petricolus Taylor 1962; Gekko russelltraini Ngo et al. 2009; Gekko scientiadventura Rösler et al. 2005; Gekko takouensis Ngo & Gamble 2010; and Gekko vietnamensis Nguyen 2010.
Here we report a new species of large-bodied gecko in the Gekko petricolus species group from Cà Ná Cape, an isolated mountain in southern Vietnam.
Etymology. The epithet is derived from the Cà Ná Cape where the type specimens were collected.
FIGURE 5. Map of Southeast Asia indicating the type localities of all described members of the Gekko petricolus species group. The type locality of Gekko canaensis sp. nov., in Ninh Thuan province is indicated by a filled circle.
van Tri, Ngo & Gamble, T. 2011. Gekko canaensis sp. nov. (Squamata: Gekkonidae), a new gecko from Southern Vietnam. Zootaxa. 2890: 53–64
