 |
| Hemiphyllodactylus puncak & Hemiphyllodactylus jeraiensis Hong, Anuar, Grismer & Quah, 2026 |
Abstract
Phylogenetic analyses of newly discovered populations of Hemiphyllodactylus from sky-islands across Peninsular Malaysia using the mitochondrial gene ND2, recovered two new upland species embedded within the harterti group. Hemiphyllodactylus puncak sp. nov. from Langkawi Island and H. jeraiensis sp. nov. from Gunung Jerai are sister species with an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of 3.6% between them. Together, they formed the sister lineage to H. cicak from Penang Hill, with an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of 3.9–4.8% and 4.5–5.7%, respectively. Given that these three populations occur on mountain tops isolated by lowland habitat and the Straits of Malacca, gene flow between them is highly unlikely, and there are unique combinations of characters that differentiate them from one another, as well as from all other species of the harterti group. The time-calibrated BEAST phylogeny shows that the harterti group diversified across the uplands of Peninsular Malaysia in the Oligocene and Pleistocene, which is consistent with climatic fluctuations during this period. During the Middle Oligocene, the ancestral population of the harterti group diverged into two distinct populations, one in the Banjaran Titiwangsa and another in the Banjaran Timur. These two populations then radiated independently across Peninsular Malaysia, giving rise to at least nine additional species within the harterti group.
Keywords: Endemic species, herpetofauna, Gunung Jerai, integrative taxonomy, Kedah, Langkawi Island, Southeast Asia
 |
| Hemiphyllodactylus puncak sp. nov. from Langkawi Island. A Male holotype (LSUHC 15050) B Female paratype (LSUHC 15081) C Female paratype (LSUHC 15082). Photographs by L. Lee Grismer. |
Hemiphyllodactylus puncak sp. nov.
Suggested English common name: Langkawi Island slender gecko
Suggested Malay common name: cicak kerdil Pulau Langkawi
Diagnosis. Hemiphyllodactylus puncak sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Hemiphyllodactylus in having the unique combination of a maximum SVL of 35.6 mm; 5–7 chin scales; enlarged postmentals; four or five circumnasal scales; one or two scales between supranasals (= postrostrals); nine or 10 supralabials; 10 infralabials; 15 or 16 longitudinally arranged dorsal scales at midbody and seven or eight ventral scales contained within one eye diameter; lamellar formula on hand 4454 or 4554 or 4555; lamellar formula on foot 4554 or 4565 or 4675 or 5655; four subdigital lamellae on first finger and four or five on first toe; 44 continuous, pore-bearing femoroprecloacal scales in male; one cloacal spur on each side; subcaudals not plate-like; a dark postorbital stripe extending to at least base of neck; presence of dorsolateral light-coloured spots on trunk; absence of dark dorsolateral or ventrolateral stripe on trunk; generally unicolour wide vertebral area; postsacral marking lacking light-coloured anteriorly projecting arms; and unpigmented caecum and gonadal ducts. These characters are scored across all species of the harterti group listed in Table 5.
Etymology. The new species name ‘puncak’ is the Malay word for peak and named in reference to this species being found on the peak of Gunung Raya on Langkawi Island.
Hemiphyllodactylus jeraiensis sp. nov.
Suggested English common name: Gunung Jerai slender gecko
Suggested Malay common name: cicak kerdil Gunung Jerai
Diagnosis. Hemiphyllodactylus jeraiensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all other species of Hemiphyllodactylus in having the unique combination of a maximum SVL of 36.5 mm; seven chin scales; enlarged postmentals; five circumnasal scales; three scales between supranasals (= postrostrals); nine supralabials; nine infralabials; 12 longitudinally arranged dorsal scales at midbody and seven ventral scales contained within one eye diameter; lamellar formula on hand 2333; lamellar formula on foot 2333; two subdigital lamellae on first finger and two on first toe; 39 continuous, pore-bearing femoroprecloacal scales in male; two cloacal spurs on each side; subcaudals not plate-like; a dark postorbital stripe extending to base of neck; presence of dorsolateral light-coloured spots on trunk; absence of dark dorsolateral or ventrolateral stripe on trunk; generally unicolour wide vertebral area; postsacral marking lacking light-coloured anteriorly projecting arms; and unpigmented caecum and gonadal ducts. These characters are scored across all species of the harterti group listed in Table 5.
Etymology. The new species name ‘jeraiensis’ is in reference to the type locality of this species on Gunung Jerai, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia.
Zijia Hong, M. S. Shahrul Anuar, L. Lee Grismer and Evan S. H. Quah. 2026. Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Hemiphyllodactylus harterti group (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with Description of Two New Species from the Sky-islands of Peninsular Malaysia. Vertebrate Zoology. 76: 1-32. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/vz.76.e154822 [16 Jan 2026]
