A new, diminutive species of Rock Gecko Cnemaspis tubaensis sp. nov. of the C. kumpoli group, is described from Tuba Island, Langkawi Archipelago, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia and is differentiated from all other species in the kumpoli group by having a unique combination of morphological and color pattern characteristics, including a maximum SVL of 37.0 mm; 10 or 11 supralabials; eight or nine infralabials; 15-18 semi-linearly arranged paravertebral tubercles; lateral caudal furrow present; lateral caudal tubercles on the anterior portion of the tail; caudal tubercles not encircling tail; five or six precloacal pores; 28 or 29 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; smooth ventrals; smooth subcaudals with an enlarged median row of scales; subcaudal region light-grey and speckled with yellow; absence of light-colored ocelli on the shoulder; no yellow postscapular band; dorsum light-brown with sage-green blotches and black spots; flanks with scattered yellow spots; absence of black gular markings in both sexes; and 13.0-22.0% uncorrected pairwise sequence divergences in the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene (ND2). Cnemaspis tubaensis sp. nov. is the fourth species of Cnemaspis to be described from the Langkawi Archipelago and underscores the underestimated biodiversity of the islands which is in need of more thorough herpetological inventories.
The taxonomic position of the rare Selangor Mud Snake (Raclitia indica) Gray to other species of homalopsids has remained uncertain due to the scarcity of specimens in collections and the lack of genetic material for comparison. Here we report the first molecular phylogenetic examination of this species based on recently acquired material. The study recovered R. indica nested within the clade of advanced, fanged homalopsids and the sister species to Erpeton tentaculatus Lácèpede. We also present notes on variation observed in the new specimens as well as range extensions for the species.
A new species of limestone karst-adapted gecko of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex, C. dayangbuntingensis sp. nov., is described from Dayang Bunting Island of the Langkawi Archipelago off the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the third species of the group to be described from the archipelago after C. langkawiensis and C. macrotuberculatus. The new species can be distinguished from all other species of Cyrtodactylus based on molecular evidence from the mitochondrial gene ND2 and its flanking tRNAs as well as having unique combinations of morphological and color pattern characteristics. This discovery underscores the need for continued surveys of the many islands in the archipelago to properly ascertain its true herpetological diversity.
A new species of Ansonia is described from the Shan Plateau of Myanmar based on an integrative taxonomic analysis that differentiates it from all other congeners. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial genes 12S and 16S rRNA and tRNA-val recover A. kyaiktiyoensis sp. nov. as the sister species to A. inthanon from Thailand but differs from it and other congeners by at least a 5.0% sequence divergence. It is further differentiated by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) maximum SVL 24 mm in males and females; (2) first finger shorter than second; (3) absence of interorbital and tarsal ridges; (4) presence of light-coloured interscapular spot; (5) presence of yellow rictal tubercle; (6) absence of wide, light-coloured patch below eye; (7) presence of large, discrete, bright-yellow submandibular spots along the underside of lower jaw; (8) iris yellow-gold; (9) presence of markings on the snout consisting of streaks below the eye to the lip, and on the canthus rostralis to the nostril; (10) dorsum grey-brown with orange-beige spots, a dark-brown X-shaped marking on the back surrounding the interscapular spot, and dark-coloured markings on rump; (11) fore- and hind limbs with orange-beige cross-bars; and (12) venter light-gray with yellow spotting, especially near flanks and underside of hind limbs. Ansonia kyaiktiyoensis sp. nov. is the westernmost known record for the genus and the only species west of the Salween Basin. Its discovery echoes the increasing number of herpetological discoveries being made in upland regions fringing the Ayeyarwady and Salween Basins.
A survey of a limestone forest at Gunung Baling, Kedah, West Malaysia lead to the discovery of an undescribed species of Bent-toed Gecko from the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex. Cyrtodactylus evanquahi sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other species in the C. pulchellus complex by a suite of morphological and color pattern characteristics: prominent tuberculation, higher number of dark body bands, and a smaller maximum SVL. It is further differentiated from all other species as follows; no tubercles on the ventral surface of the forelimbs, gular region, or in the ventrolateral folds; 31-34 paravetebral dorsal tubercles; 18-23 longitudinal rows of tubercles; 29-33 ventral scales; 22-23 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; 32-36 femoroprecloacal pores; a shallow precloacal groove in males; body bands and nuchal loop edged with a thin white line bearing tubercles; no scattered white spots on the dorsum; six or seven dark body bands much thinner than interspaces; 9-11 dark caudal bands on original tail; bands on the original tail separated by immaculate white caudal bands. It is further differentiated by an uncorrected pairwise genetic divergence of 6.50-15.67% from all other congeners in the C. pulchellus complex. It is most closely related to C. pulchellus from Penang Island ∼76 km to the southwest. In addition to the new samples from Gunung Baling, we added four samples of C. bintangrendah from the new locality of Belukar Semang, Perak. The discovery of yet another new species of the C. pulchellus complex from a limestone habitat continues to underscore the high degree of endemism and the importance of these unique habitats for biodiversity, and the continued need for their conservation.
Liopeltis is a genus of poorly known, infrequently sampled species of colubrid snakes in tropical Asia. We collected a specimen of Liopeltis from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia, that superficially resembled L. philippina, a rare species that is endemic to the Palawan Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complex, western Philippines. We analyzed morphological and mitochondrial DNA sequence data from the Pulau Tioman specimen and found distinct differences to L. philippina and all other congeners. On the basis of these corroborated lines of evidence, the Pulau Tioman specimen is described as a new species, L. tiomanica sp. nov. The new species occurs in sympatry with L. tricolor on Pulau Tioman, and our description of L. tiomanica sp. nov. brings the number of endemic amphibians and reptiles on Pulau Tioman to 12.
The family Xenophidiidae is an extremely rare and little-known family of snakes that contains only two species, Xenophidion acanthognathus Günther Manthey and X. schaeferi Günther Manthey that are each known only from their holotypes. We report on the rediscovery of X. schaeferi from two new locations in southern Peninsular Malaysia. The new specimens differ markedly from the holotype of X. schaeferi in colour pattern and are more akin to the patterning of X. acanthognathus from Borneo. However, molecular analyses of one of the new specimens reveal that it only differs from the holotype of X. schaeferi by a minimum sequence divergence of 0.27%. An expanded description of the species based on these specimens is provided and phenotypic variation within the species is discussed. We also report the first record of the genus Xenophidion from West Sumatra, Indonesia. These sensational discoveries continue to underscore the fact that southern Peninsular Malaysia and upland areas of Southeast Asia in general still harbour unrealized herpetological diversity and are still in need of field research-based taxonomic studies.
Two new species of diminutive, sympatric, lowland, leaf-litter skinks of the genus Tytthoscincus Linkem, Diesmos Brown from the Sekayu region of Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu State in northeastern Peninsular Malaysia are described on the basis genetic and morphological data. One of the new species, T. monticolus sp. nov., was collected in a hilly riparian area along Sungai (=river) Bubu and is most closely related to an undescribed species from the Tembak Reservoir area. The other, T. keciktuek sp. nov. collected along Sungai Peres, is most closely related to T. perhentianensis Grismer, Wood, Grismer from Pulau (=island) Perhentian Besar. Sympatry and syntopy of multiple, specialized, unrelated, leaf-litter species of Tytthoscincus was previously only known from upland areas and these new species represent the first example of lowland of sympatry. More importantly, however, these endemic species add to a growing body of research and discoveries that continue to underscore the unrealized biodiversity of the riparian systems of Hulu Terengganu and the Sekayu region and their need for protection and continued study.
Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the sister species Sphenomorphus stellatus and S. praesignis based on the mitochondrial genes 12S and 16S rRNA recover the former as paraphyletic with respect to the latter in that a specimen of S. stellatus from the type locality in Peninsular Malaysia is more closely related to S. praesignis than to Indochinese populations of S. stellatus. Furthermore, the phylogeny indicates that the Indochinese populations represent two species, thus resulting in four major lineages within this clade. These relationships are consistent with multivariate and univariate analyses of morphological and discrete color pattern data which statistically define and diagnose the four lineages and together with the molecular data, provide the foundation for robust, testable, species-level hypotheses. As such, S. stellatus is herein restricted to Peninsular Malaysia; S. annamiticus is resurrected for the circum-continental populations ranging through southeastern Thailand, southern Cambodia, and southern Vietnam; a new species-S. preylangensis sp. nov.-is described from an isolated mountain, Phnom Chi, from the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary in central Cambodia; and the taxonomy of S. praesignis remains unchanged. The description of S. preylangensis sp. nov. underscores the necessity to conserve this remnant of lowland evergreen rainforest in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary.
A newly discovered species of homalopsid snake from the genus Gyiophis Murphy & Voris is described from the lowlands of Mawlamyine District in Mon state, southeastern Myanmar. Gyiophis salweenensis sp. nov. is presumed to be closely related to G. maculosa Blanford and G. vorisi Murphy based on the similarities in pholidosis and patterning but can be separated from G. maculosa by the shape of its first three dorsal scale rows that are square, ventral scale pattern that lacks a central spot, and a faint stripe on dorsal scale rows 1-4. It can be further distinguished from G. vorisi by its lower number of ventral scales (129 vs. 142-152), lower number of subcaudals (30/29 vs. 41-58), narrow rostral scale, and having more rows of spots on the dorsum (four vs. three). A preliminary molecular analysis using 1050 base pairs of cytochrome b (cytb) recovered G. salweenensis sp. nov. as the sister species to the Chinese Mud Snake (Myrrophis chinensis). G. maculosa and G. vorisi were unavailable for the analysis. The discovery of G. salweenensis sp. nov. highlights the need for more surveys into the herpetological diversity of eastern Myanmar which remains very much underestimated.
An integrative taxonomic analysis of the Ptychozoon lionotum group across its range in Indochina and Sundaland recovers P. lionotum sensu lato Annandale, 1905 as paraphyletic with respect to P. popaense Grismer, Wood, Thura, Grismer, Brown, Stuart, 2018a and composed of four allopatric, genetically divergent, ND2 mitochondrial lineages. Multivariate and univariate analyses of continuous and discrete morphological and color pattern characters statistically and discretely diagnose each lineage from one another and together, with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses, provide the foundation for the recognition of each lineage as a new species-hypotheses corroborated with a Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent species delimitation analysis. Ptychozoon cicakterbang sp. nov. ranges throughout Peninsular Malaysia to Pulau Natuna Besar, Indonesia; P. kabkaebin sp. nov. is endemic to northern and central Laos; and P. tokehos sp. nov. ranges from southern Thailand south of the Isthmus of Kra northward to Chiang Mai, fringing the Chao Phraya Basin and ranging southward through Cambodia to southern Vietnam. Ptychozoon lionotum sensu stricto ranges from northwestern Laos through southern Myanmar to eastern India. The phylogeographic structure within each species varies considerably with P. lionotum s.s. showing no genetic divergence across its 1,100 km range compared to P. cicakterbang sp. nov. showing upwards of 8.2% sequence divergence between syntopic individuals. Significant phylogeographic structure exists within P. tokehos sp. nov. and increased sampling throughout Thailand may require additional taxonomic changes within this species.