A new species of karst-adapted gekkonid lizard of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch is described from Gua Gunting and Gua Goyang in a karst region of Merapoh, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia whose unique limestone formations are in immediate danger of being quarried. The new species differs from all other species of Cnemaspis based on its unique suite of morphological and color pattern characters. Its discovery underscores the unique biodiversity endemic to karst regions and adds to a growing list of karst-adapted reptiles from Peninsular Malaysia. We posit that new karst-adapted species endemic to limestone forests will continue to be discovered and these regions will harbor a significant percentage of Peninsular Malaysia's biodiversity and thusly should be conserved rather than quarried.
A new insular species Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. (Squamata: Gekkonidae), is described from Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia and bears a unique suite of morphological and color pattern characters that differentiate it from all other congeners. Cnemaspis bidongensis sp. nov. is the sister species to C. kendallii (Gray) and represents the fifth insular endemic species of Cnemaspis on archipelagos along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This species survived massive deforestation of the small island of Bidong (260 ha) from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s when the island served as a Vietnamese refugee camp and harbored as many as 40,000 people at one time. We hypothesize that this species' generalized lifestyle contributed to its survival, allowing it to seek refuge in rocky microhabitats.