590 Tiere (Zoologie)
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A morphological and molecular review of the genus Goniurosaurus, including an identification key
(2021)
The genus Goniurosaurus (tiger geckos) currently consists of 23 species distributed in China, Japan and Vietnam. Several species complexes and recent discoveries of cryptic species pose challenges to the species identification, which is crucial to effectively implement the recent listing of the species from China and Vietnam in CITES Appendix II and the species from Japan in CITES Appendix III. Based on the results of our field work in northern Vietnam and data compiled from literature, we herein provide a taxonomic review of the genus Goniurosaurus. Our phylogenetic analyses showed that all recorded populations of tiger geckos from Vietnam, which were found to be monophyletic with low intra-specific genetic divergences, are assigned to one of the four species: G. catbaensis, G. huuliensis, G. lichtenfelderi or G. luii. Both genetic and morphological analyses confirm that the species from China and Vietnam can be split into three major groups. Based on the newly collected data, we provide an extended morphological description of the Vietnamese species. In addition, we provide an identification key for all Goniurosaurus species from China, Japan and Vietnam in order to assist authorities in the enforcement of the recent CITES listing.
We describe a new species of Cyrtodactylus on the basis of two specimens collected from Ta Kou Nature Reserve, Binh Thuan Province, southern Vietnam. Cyrtodactylus chungi sp. nov. is distinguished from the remaining Indochinese bent-toed geckos by a combination of the following characters: relatively small body size (SVL up to 68.5 mm); a continuous neckband; 5 or 6 irregular transverse dorsal bands; 11 or 12 bands on original tail; keeled tubercles present on dorsum, posterior limbs and tail; 17 or 18 irregular dorsal tubercle rows; 30 or 31 ventral scale rows; ventrolateral skin folds indistinct; an angular series of seven precloacal pores in male and six pitted, enlarged precloacal scales in female, each series separated by a diastema of undifferentiated scales from 4–6 enlarged, poreless femoral scales; median subcaudals slightly enlarged; 17–20 subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe. Based on molecular analyses of the fragment of mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), the new species is recovered as the sister taxon to Cyrtodactylus cattienensis s. str. with a genetic divergence of more than 9%. In phylogenetic analyses, the new species is recovered as a member of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis species group.