A definition of the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group (Squamata, Eublepharidae) with the description of a new species

Abstract

A definition of the Goniurosaurus yingdeensis group is presented in this study, on the basis of morphological and phylogenetic analyses based on a series of additional specimens. Moreover, a new species of this group, Goniurosaurus variussp. nov., is proposed for northern Guangdong Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from the other two congeners of this group by the following unique characters: one or two internasals; enlarged supraorbital tubercles absent; paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions 27–29; dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 21–24; ten precloacal pores in males and absent in females; body bands with black spots; iris orange-red.

The Stoor Hobbit of Guangdong: Goniurosaurus gollum sp. nov., a cave-dwelling Leopard Gecko (Squamata, Eublepharidae) from South China

“…All specimens are deposited in The Museum of Biology, Sun Yat-sen University (SYS). Sequences of other species of Goniurosaurus generated by Qi et al (2020) were accessed from GenBank.…”

“…3C) has three complete body bands, second band extending a branch forward to middle of body, original tail has ten immaculate white caudal bands completely encircling tail, and dark-brown tip. Data come from Grismer et al 1999Grismer et al , 2002Orlov et al 2008;Ziegler et al 2008;Blair et al 2009;Wang et al 2010Wang et al , 2013Wang et al , 2014Yang and Chan 2015;Zhou et al 2018;Qi et al 2020;Zhu et al 2020.…”

“…The eublepharid genus Goniurosaurus Barbour, 1908, currently contains 22 species that are scattered throughout much East and northern Southeast Asia (Uetz et al 2020;Zhu et al 2020;Qi et al 2020). All species of Goniurosaurus have generally restricted, circumscribed ranges and many are restricted to habitats with either granite or limestone (karst) rock (Wang et al 2014;Liang et al 2018;Qi et al 2020).…”

“…The eublepharid genus Goniurosaurus Barbour, 1908, currently contains 22 species that are scattered throughout much East and northern Southeast Asia (Uetz et al 2020;Zhu et al 2020;Qi et al 2020). All species of Goniurosaurus have generally restricted, circumscribed ranges and many are restricted to habitats with either granite or limestone (karst) rock (Wang et al 2014;Liang et al 2018;Qi et al 2020). Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses resulted in the partitioning of Goniurosaurus into four monophyletic species groups (Liang et al 2018 ;Qi et al 2020;Zhu et al 2020), namely the G. kuroiwae, G. lichtenfelderi, G. luii and, G. yingdeensis groups.…”

“…All species of Goniurosaurus have generally restricted, circumscribed ranges and many are restricted to habitats with either granite or limestone (karst) rock (Wang et al 2014;Liang et al 2018;Qi et al 2020). Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses resulted in the partitioning of Goniurosaurus into four monophyletic species groups (Liang et al 2018 ;Qi et al 2020;Zhu et al 2020), namely the G. kuroiwae, G. lichtenfelderi, G. luii and, G. yingdeensis groups. The morphological comparisons also sustain the recognition of the G. kuroiwae and G. yingdeensis groups, however, the definitions of the G. lichtenfelderi and G. luii groups still require clarification (Qi et al 2020).…”