A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata; Gekkonidae) from the Thai Highlands with a discussion on the evolution of habitat preference

Abstract

A new gekkonid lizard, Cyrtodactylus maelanoi sp. nov., from Mae Hong Son Province of the Thai Highlands is described using an integrative taxonomic analysis based on morphology, color pattern, and the mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) and its flanking tRNAs. Phylogenetic analyses place the new species within clade 1 of the C. sinyineensis group and as the sister species to C. inthanon with an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of 3.9%. Collection data gathered in the field indicate that C. maelanoi sp. nov. is a habitat generalist. Reconstruction of the ancestral habitat preference for the C. sinyineensis group by way of stochasitc character mapping (SCM) indicates that karstic environments were the ancestral condition out of which the general habitat preference of the ancestor of C. maelanoi sp. nov. and C. inthanon and that of C. amphipetreaus and C. doisuthep evolved three times independently. Additionally, SCM demonstrated that the evolution of a granitic habitat preference from a karst-adapted ancestor happened in C. aequalis. The discovery of a new upland species in the Thai Highlands brings into focus the understudied nature of the mountain systems of western Thailand and the need for their continued exploration and conservation.

Phylogenetic partitioning of the third-largest vertebrate genus in the world, Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Reptilia; Squamata; Gekkonidae) and its relevance to taxonomy and conservation

“…The sinyineensis group (sec. Grismer et al 2018b) ranges from the uplands of northwestern Thailand to the lowland karstic archipelagos of the Salween Basin in southeastern Myanmar (Grismer et al 2018b(Grismer et al , 2020c and is composed of 12 nominal species (Figs 3,24,33). The group is divisible into two strongly supported clades (Chomdej et al 2020;Fig.…”

“…3). Clade 1 (100/1.00) is composed of three species (С. si nyineensis, С. taungwineensis, and С. welpyanensis) from the Salween Basin and two species (С. inthanon and С. mae lanoi) from upland regions of the Thanon Thong Chai mountain range in northwestern Thailand (Grismer et al 2020c). Clade 2 (98/1.00) is composed of five species (С. bayinnyiensis, С. dattkyaikensis, С. naungkayaingensis, С. chaunghanakwaensis, and С. dammathetensis) from the Salween Basin and two species from upland regions fringing the northern (С. aequalis) and western (С. am phipetraeus) margins of the Salween Basin (Figs.…”

Hidden tribe: A new species of Stream Toad of the genus Ansonia Stoliczka, 1870 (Anura: Bufonidae) from the poorly explored mountainous borderlands of western Thailand

“…The northern Tenasserim Mountain region is nota ble for the recent discoveries of endemic amphibians and reptiles (Matsui 2006;Sumontha et al 2012Sumontha et al , 2017Wilkinson et al 2012;Connette et al 2017;Grismer et al 2016Grismer et al , 2020aGrismer et al , 2020bGrismer et al , 2020cMatsui et al 2018;Pawangkhanant et al 2018;Suwannapoom et al 2018;Lee et al 2019;Chomdej et al 2020Chomdej et al , 2021Poyarkov et al, 2020). The mountains of northern Tenasserim are recognized as one of multiple local centers of amphib ian diversity and endemism in Indochina .…”

An expanded description, natural history, and genetic variation of the recently described cobra species Naja fuxi Shi et al., 2022

“…Even in areas of higher elevation, habitats have supported diverse reptile communities (e.g., Chettri et al 2010;Li et al 2018). There have been records indicating that many living reptilian species are specific to mountainous areas in Thailand and adjacent regions; examples include the gekkonid lizards (e.g., Grismer et al 2018;Grismer et al 2020), various snakes (e.g., Teynié et al 2015;Sumontha et al 2020;Pauwels et al 2021), and the long-horned lizards (e.g., Trivalairat et al 2020).…”