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| Acanthosaura cuongi Ngo, Le, T. T. Nguyen, T. M. Nguyen, N. T. Nguyen, Phan, T. Q. Nguyen, Ziegler & Do, 2025 |
Abstract
We describe a new species of the genus Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 from the Truong Son Mountain Range, southern Vietnam, based on integrative taxonomic analyses. Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from its congeners by a combination of the following diagnostic characteristics: size moderate (snout-vent length: 79.4–104.61 mm); the absence of a diastema between the short nuchal and dorsal crest spines; vertebral crests composed of two rows of enlarged, keeled, pointed scales, arranged in a zipper line; various body coloration with light-green, orange-yellow, and light or purple-gray; black eye patch extending posteriorly to the anterior edge of tympanum. Maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses using two mitochondrial genes (COI and Cytb) support the monophyly of Acanthosaura cuongi. Furthermore, the new species differs from the closest lineage consisting of A. coronata Günther, 1861 by having pairwise genetic distances of 11.58–12.11%, and have a maximal intraspecific distance of 0.35%. This is the 21st species of Acanthosaura and the tenth species of the genus reported from Vietnam.
Keywords: Agamid lizards, morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy
Class Reptilia Laurenti, 1768
Order Squamata Oppel, 1811
Suborder Iguania Cope, 1864
Family Agamidae Gray, 1827
Subfamily Draconinae Fitzinger, 1826
Genus Acanthosaura Gray, 1831
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| Live male holotype of Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. (IEBR R.5250). A. Dorsolateral view. B. Dorsal view. C. Cloacal region. D. Head, lateral view. E. Head, dorsal view. F. Head, ventral view. |
Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Moderately-sized agamid lizard (SVL 79.40–87.06 mm in males, 85.69–104.61 mm in females); head triangular, relatively long (HL/SVL 0.27–0.31, HW/SVL 0.18–0.21), tail relatively long (TaL/SVL 1.44–1.51 in males and 1.09–1.38 in females), postorbital and occipital spines present; gular pouch undeveloped; 8–10 scales between nasals; four scales bordering mental scale; 10–13 supralabials; 10–13 infralabials; 5–7 scales bordering rostral scale; nuchal crest composed of 7–9 spines relatively high and one spine short; dorsal crest present, undeveloped; double rows of vertebral scales followed the dorsal crest; nuchal and dorsal crests continuous, filled with small spine scales; lateral scales small, intermixed with large, keeled scales, keels directed backward and back-upward; number of subdigital lamellae 14–17 on fourth finger and 19–23 on fourth toe (Table 3); black nuchal collar present; dorsum with black bands; a black patch extending from eye posteriorly to the anterior edge of tympanum.
Etymology: The specific epithet is dedicated to the Vietnamese herpetologist Dr Cuong The Pham, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR), Hanoi, in recognition of his support for field surveys in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces and his great contributions to herpetological research in Vietnam.
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| Color variations of live paratypes of Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. |
Hai Ngoc Ngo, Linh Tu Hoang Le, Tao Thien Nguyen, Tuan Minh Nguyen, Ngan Thi Nguyen, Tien Quang Phan, Truong Quang Nguyen, Thomas Ziegler and Dang Trong Do. 2025. A New Species of Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Reptilia: Agamidae) from the Truong Son Mountain Range, Vietnam. European Journal of Taxonomy. 976: 108–132. DOI: doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.976.2781
