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| Hemiphyllodactylus lungcuensis Luu, Nguyen, Do, Pham, Hoang, Nguyen, Le, Ziegler, Grismer et Grismer, 2023. |
Abstract
An integrative analysis recovered a new species of the Hemiphyllodactylus typus group from a karst formation in Lung Cu Commune, Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province, northeastern Vietnam. Hemiphyllodactylus lungcuensis sp. nov. is embedded within clade 6 of the typus group, bearing an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of 4.6–20.2% from all other species based on a 1,038 base pair segment of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene (ND2). It is diagnosable from other species in clade 6 by statistically significant mean differences in normalized morphometric, meristic, and categorical characters. A multiple factor analysis using the three aforementioned character types recovered its unique, non-overlapping placement in morphospace as statistically significantly different from that of all other species in clade 6. The description of this new Hemiphyllodactylus species contributes to a growing body of literature underscoring the high degree of herpetological diversity and endemism in karst landscapes in Vietnam as well as in the genus Hemiphyllodactylus.
Key words: Genetics, Hemiphyllodactylus lungcuensis sp. nov., integrative approach, karst forest, morphology, Southeast Asia
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| Dorsal views of Hemiphyllodactylus lungcuensis sp. nov. in life from Ha Giang Province, northeastern Vietnam A adult male holotype VNUF R.2021.01 B adult female paratype VNUF R.2021.08. |
Hemiphyllodactylus lungcuensis sp. nov.
Verbatim name. Lungcu Slender Gecko
Diagnosis: Hemiphyllodactylus lungcuensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: a maximum SVL of 44.2 mm; trunk not particularly elongate (AG/SVL ratio 0.52); chin scales 8–10, distinct enlarged postmentals; circumnasal scales two or three; supralabial scales 11 or 12; infralabial scales 10 or 11; ventral scale rows 6–9; dorsal scale rows 12–16; digital lamellae formula 4(3)–4–5(4)–4 (forefoot) and 4–5–5–5 (hindfoot); precloacal pores 17–25 and continuous series in males, 0–22 pitted precloacal scales in females; cloacal spur single in both sexes; enlarged subcaudal scales absent; dorsal surface brown sand color, with irregular dark brown streaks; a distinct dark postorbital stripe extending to at least the base of the neck, uneven dark streaks running along the flanks and ending at the base of tail, a cream-colored V-shaped postsacral mark with anteriorly projecting arms; a pale yellow ventral view of the body and limbs; and unpigmented caecum and gonads.
Etymology: Specific epithet lungcuensis is a toponym in reference to the type locality [Lung Cu Commune, Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province] of the species. For the common names, we suggest Lungcu Slender Gecko (English) and Thạch sùng dẹp lũng cú (Vietnamese).
Vinh Quang Luu, Thuong Huyen Nguyen, Quyen Hanh Do, Cuong The Pham, Tuoi Thi Hoang, Truong Quang Nguyen, Minh Duc Le, Thomas Ziegler, Jesse L. Grismer and L. Lee Grismer. 2023. A New Species of Hemiphyllodactylus (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. ZooKeys. 1167: 353-382. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1167.103713
