Cnemaspis huaseesom Grismer, Sumontha, Cota, Grismer, Wood, Pauwels & Kunya, 2010, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Grismer, Lee
name: Sumontha, Montri
name: Cota, Michael
name: Grismer, Jesse L.
name: Wood, Perry L.
name: Pauwels, Olivier S. G.
name: Kunya, Kirati
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Squamata
Gekkonidae
Cnemaspis
Cnemaspis huaseesom

description: Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov.
Orange-headed Rock Gecko Djing Djok Niew Yaow Hua See Som Figures 14, 15, 16
Holotype. Adult male (THNHM 15909) from Sai Yok National Park, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand (14° 20.09N 98° 51.35E) collected on 7 July 2007 by Saranon Charoensuk.
Paratypes. The collection data for the paratypes PSUZC-RT 2010.55 and CUMZ-R 2009,6,24-4 are the same as the holotype.
Diagnosis. Adult males reaching 37.7 mm SVL, adult females reaching 37.9; 7–9 supralabials; 6–8 infralabials; forearm scales weakly keeled; gulars, subtibials, ventrals, and subcaudals smooth; dorsal tubercles keeled; tubercles on flanks; 21–24 paravertebral tubercles; ventrolateral caudal tubercles absent anteriorly; caudal tubercles do not encircle tail; caudal tubercles absent from lateral, caudal furrow; no median row of enlarged subcaudals; five or six contiguous, pore-bearing, precloacal scales; pores round; one or two postcloacal tubercles; shield-like subtibials and enlarged, submetatarsal scales absent; 25–31 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; no dark, longitudinal, gular markings or blotches; head and tail yellow in adult males; no dark patches enclosing white to yellow ocelli on neck or shoulder; no prominent, yellow to white, prescapular crescent or transverse bars on flanks. These differences are summarized across all species in TABLES 1 and 2.
Description of holotype. Adult male; SVL 37.7 mm; head oblong in dorsal profile, moderate in size (HL/ SVL 0.28), somewhat narrow (HW/SVL 0.16), flat (HD/HL 0.40), distinct from neck; snout short (ES/HL 0.46), concave in lateral profile; postnasal region constricted medially; scales of rostrum low, rounded, juxtaposed, smooth, larger than similarly shaped scales on occiput; weak, supraorbital ridges; no frontonasal sulcus; canthus rostralis smoothly rounded; eye large (ED/HL 0.22); extra-brillar fringe scales small in general but slightly larger anteriorly; pupil round; ear opening oval, taller than wide; rostral concave dorsally, dorsal 90% divided by longitudinal groove; rostral bordered posteriorly by two supranasals, an azygous postrostral of similar size, and nostrils; bordered laterally by first supralabials; 7R,8L raised supralabials of similar size, but smallest posteriorly; 7R,L infralabials, decreasing gradually in size posteriorly; nostrils small, elongate, oriented dorsoposteriorly; bordered posteriorly by small, granular, postnasal scales; mental large, triangular, concave, extending to level of second infralabials, bordered posteriorly by three postmentals, medial postmental smaller than laterals; gular scales smooth, rounded, juxtaposed; throat scales smooth, flat, subimbricate.
Body slender, elongate (AG/SVL 0.42); small, raised, smooth, dorsal scales generally equal in size throughout body, intermixed with numerous, larger, multi-keeled, longitudinally arranged tubercles; tubercles extend from top of head to base of tail and are smallest anteriorly; tubercles on flanks; 18 paravertebral tubercles; pectoral and abdominal scales smooth, flat, imbricate, same size; abdominal scales larger than dorsals; six contiguous, pore-bearing, precloacal scales; pores round; forelimbs moderately long, slender, dorsal scales smooth; ventral scales of forearm smooth, juxtaposed to subimbricate; palmar scales smooth, raised, subimbricate; digits long with an inflected joint; claws recurved; subdigital lamellae unnotched; subdigital lamellae wide throughout length of digits, bearing a larger scale at digital inflections; interdigital webbing generally absent; fingers increase in length from first to fourth with fifth same length as fourth; hind limbs longer and thicker than forelimbs; dorsal scales weakly keeled, subimbricate; ventral scales smooth, imbricate; plantar scales smooth, slightly raised, subimbricate; no enlarged submetatarsal scales beneath first metatarsal; digits elongate with an inflected joint; claws recurved; subdigital lamellae unnotched; lamellae wide throughout length of digits; enlarged scales at digital inflections; interdigital webbing absent; toes increase in length from first to fourth with fourth and fifth nearly equal in length; 31 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; caudal scales arranged in segmented whorls; four scales per caudal segment; dorsal, caudal scales flat, juxtaposed anteriorly; middorsal and lateral, caudal furrows present; no median row of enlarged, subcaudal scales; subcaudals smooth; paravertebral, dorsolateral, and lateral rows of large, keeled, caudal tubercles extend length of tail; caudal tubercles do not encircle tail and absent from lateral furrow; two postcloacal tubercles; tail approximately 1.2% times SVL.
Coloration (in life; Fig. 15). Dorsal ground color of head, body, forelimbs and tail yellow; dorsal ground color of trunk and hind limbs gray; top of head bearing small, diffuse, faint, darker colored markings giving it a somewhat mottled appearance; dark postorbital stripes faint; large, round, whitish markings on nape; trunk uniformly gray; tubercles on body lightly colored; forelimbs generally uniform yellow bearing a slight banding pattern; digits white bearing thin, dark bands; ventral surface of gular region, throat, pectoral and subcaudal region yellow; belly pale gray; ventral surface of limbs gray; fine, dark stippling on all ventral surfaces, most dense on belly.
Variation. Differences in squamation and morphometrics are presented in TABLE 6. Male Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov. are capable of considerable change in coloration from a light to darker phase (Figs. 15,16). The description that follows is of the darker phase: dorsal ground color of head, forelimbs and tail yellow, with faint banding on tail; dorsal ground color of trunk and hind limbs dark gray and bearing large, light gray, paravertebral spots extending from occiput to base of tail; dorsal surface of hind limbs bearing large, light gray spots; dorsal surface of forelimbs bearing small, yellow markings; all ventral surfaces darker. Sexual dimorphism of color pattern is marked in this species with females lacking the yellow head, forelimbs, and tail of adult males (Fig. 15). PSUZC-RT 2010.55 has the same general trunk color pattern as the holotype in the dark phase. The overall ground color of the head, body, limbs, and tail is light brown; large, lighter, paravertebral markings extend from the nape to the base of the tail where they continue posteriorly to form lightly colored, caudal bands; the flanks are densely stippled with cream colored markings and bear faint, gray bars; the limbs are mottled; all ventral surfaces beige with faint stippling that is most dense on the belly and tail. Some adult males may have a gray, as opposed to yellow, tail (Fig. 15).
Distribution. Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov. is known only from Sai Yok National Park, Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand (Fig. 1).
Natural history. Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov. is most commonly found on hillsides with karst boulders in semideciduous, dipterocarp forest amongst thick vegetation including bamboo. Lizards are generally active at night on karst boulders but may be found on vine-like vegetation near the boulders (Fig. 15). This species is fast, wary, and flees into deep cracks and crevices at the slightest provocation. More than one lizard is usually found on a given outcropping. Gravid females carrying two eggs were observed on 5 October 2009.
Etymology. The specific epithet huaseesom is derived from the Thai words hua meaning head, see meaning color, and som meaning orange in reference to the orangish yellow head of this species.
Comparisons. Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov. is differentiated from all other species of Southeast Asain Cnemaspis in that adult males have a yellow head, forearms, and original tail. In this regard it is similar to C. paripari Grismer & Chan 2009 although adult male C. paripari lack yellow limbs and only the regenerated tail is yellow (Grismer & Chan 2009). The presence of smooth ventral scales in C. huaseesom sp. nov. distinguishes it from C. argus Dring 1979, C. bayuensis Grismer, Grismer, Wood & Chan 2008, C. biocellata Grismer, Chan, Nurolhuda & Sumontha 2008, C. dringi Das & Bauer 1998, C. flavolineata (Nicholls 1949), C. karsticola Grismer, Grismer, Wood & Chan 2008, C. kendallii (Gray 1845), C. limi Das & Grismer 2003, C. mcguirei Grismer, Grismer, Wood & Chan 2008, C. nigridia (Smith 1925), C. paripari, C. pemanggilensis Grismer & Das 2006, C. pseudomcguirei Grismer, Norhayati, Chan, Belabut, Muin, Wood & Grismer 2009, C. siamensis (Smith 1925), C. chanardi sp. nov., C. vandeventeri sp. nov., C. narathiwatensis sp. nov., and C. roticanai Grismer & Chan 2010. Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov. is separated from C. affinis (Stoliczka 1870), C. aurantiacopes Grismer & Ngo 2007, C. baueri Das & Grismer 2003, and C. perhentianensis Grismer & Chan 2008 by having smooth as opposed to keeled subcaudals. The presence of precloacal pores in male C. huaseesom sp. nov. differentiates it from C. boulengeri Strauch 1887, C. psychedelica Grismer, Ngo & Grismer 2010, C. tucdupensis Grismer & Ngo 2007, and C. punctatonuchalis sp. nov. sp. nov. The smaller maximum SVL (37.9 mm) of C. huaseesom sp. nov. separates it from the larger C. caudanivea Grismer & Ngo 2007 (SVL 47.1 mm), C. flavigaster Chan & Grismer 2008, C. kumpoli Smith 1963 (SVL 63.0 mm), and C. nuicamensis Grismer & Ngo 2007 (SVL 47.5 mm) although it is much larger than C. monachorum Grismer, Norhayati, Chan, Belabut, Muin, Wood & Grismer 2009 (SVL 32.9 mm). Cnemaspis huaseesom sp. nov. is differentiated from C. chanthaburiensis Bauer & Das 1998 in lacking as opposed to having tubercles in the lateral, caudal furrow and is differentiated from C. kamolnorranathi sp. nov. by lacking as opposed to having an enlarged median row of subcaudals. Other differences in squamation are scored across all species in TABLE 1.
Additional material examined. Kanchanaburi Province: Sai Yok National Park ZMKU Rep-000316, KZM 0 0 7.
description: Published as part of Grismer, Lee, Sumontha, Montri, Cota, Michael, Grismer, Jesse L., Wood, Perry L., Pauwels, Olivier S. G. & Kunya, Kirati, 2010, A revision and redescription of the rock gecko Cnemaspis siamensis (Taylor 1925) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Peninsular Thailand with descriptions of seven new species, pp. 1-55 in Zootaxa 2576 on pages 33-38, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.275935