Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi 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 kamolnorranathi

description: Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi sp. nov.
Kamolnorranath’s Rock Gecko Djing Djok Niew Yaow Sumet Figures 11, 12, 13
Cnemaspis siamensis Grismer, Chan, Nurolhuda, & Sumontha, 2008:54
Holotype. Male (THNHM 15908) from Petchphanomwat Waterfall, in Tai Rom Yen National Park, Ban Nasan District, Surat Thani Province (8°56.88’N 99°31.82’E) collected by Thanin Kaewmanee on 17 December 2004.
Paratypes. PSUZC-RT 2010.52 and KZM 0 0 6 have the same collection data as the holotype. CUMZ-R 2009,6,24-3 is from Tham Khao Sonk hill, Thachana District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (9°34’N 99°10’E) collected on 27 June 2003 by Montri Sumontha.
Diagnosis. Males reaching 37.8 mm SVL, females reaching 36.8 mm SVL; eight or nine supralabials; seven or eight infralabials; gular scales smooth; forearm scales keeled; subtibials keeled or smooth; ventrals smooth to weakly keeled; dorsal tubercles keeled; 19–24 paravertebral tubercles; six or seven, contiguous, pore-bearing, precloacal scales; pores transversely elongate (Fig. 13); one or two postcloacal tubercles; shieldlike subtibials and enlarged, submetatarsal scales absent; 24–28 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; no dark, longitudinal, gular markings or blotches; head not yellow in adult males; no dark neck or shoulder patch enclosing a white to yellow ocellus; 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 37.8 mm; head oblong in dorsal profile, moderate in size (HL/ SVL 0.28), somewhat narrow (HW/SVL 0.17), flat (HD/HL 0.43), distinct from neck; snout short (ES/HL 0.46), concave in lateral profile; postnasal region constricted medially; scales of rostrum low, rounded, juxtaposed, weakly keeled, larger than similarly shaped scales on occiput; weak, supraorbital ridges; shallow frontonasal sulcus; canthus rostralis smoothly rounded; eye large (ED/HL 0.20); 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, a similarly sized, azygous postrostral, and nostrils; bordered laterally by first supralabials; 8R,L raised supralabials of similar size, but smallest posteriorly; 7R,L infralabials, decreasing gradually in size posteriorly; nostrils small, oblong, oriented dorsoposteriorly; bordered posteriorly by small, granular, postnasal scales; mental large, triangular, concave extending to level of second infralabials, bearing an obliquely oriented suture, bordered posteriorly by three postmentals, lateral postmentals largest; gular scales smooth, rounded, juxtaposed; throat scales smooth, flat, subimbricate.
Body slender, elongate (AG/SVL 0.43); small, raised, smooth, dorsal scales generally equal in size throughout body, intermixed with numerous, larger, multi-keeled, semi-longitudinally arranged tubercles; tubercles extend from top of head to base of tail and are smallest anteriorly; 28 paravertebral tubercles; pectoral and abdominal scales smooth, flat, imbricate; abdominal scales slightly larger than pectoral scales and much larger than dorsals; seven contiguous, pore-bearing, precloacal scales forming a 4L,3R chevron; pores transversely elongate; forelimbs moderately long, slender, dorsal scales keeled; 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 of thigh, keeled, raised, juxtaposed; dorsal scales of foreleg keeled, subimbricate; ventral scales of hind limb smooth, imbricate; plantar scales smooth, 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 except at base where scales are more granular; enlarged scale at digital inflections; interdigital webbing absent; toes increase in length from first to fourth with fourth and fifth nearly equal in length; 28R,26L subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; tail missing; two postcloacal tubercles on lateral surfaces of hemipenal swellings at base of tail.
Coloration (in alcohol). Dorsal ground color of head, body, limbs and tail dark pale yellow; rostrum bearing dark and light irregular markings; occiput darker than top of head; postorbital stripping faint; light vertebral blotch on nape followed by four, lightly colored, butterfly-shaped, vertebral blotches on body which fade immediately anterior to level of axilla; white markings weakly edged in darker coloration; no white bars on flanks; no light prescapular crescent; limbs bearing dark mottling faintly resembling bands; digits bearing dark bands; ventral surfaces uniformly beige with faint, black stippling in all scales.
Variation. Differences in meristic and morphometrics within the type series are presented in TABLE 5. The paratypes approach the holotype in general aspects of coloration and pattern (Fig. 11). PSUZC-RT 2010.52 and KZM 0 0 6 from Petchphanomwat Waterfall have a more boldly marked dorsal pattern with more conspicuous light, vertebral, butterfly markings bearing thicker, dark edging. CUMZ-R 2009,6,24-3 from Tham Khao Sonk hill is a dried out, somewhat shriveled specimen. In life, however, its coloration was even more similar to that of the holotype than that of PSUZC-RT 2010.52 and KZM 0 0 6 (Fig. 12). PSUZC-RT 2010.52 is the only specimen with an original tail. The tail has paravertebral, dorsolateral, and lateral rows of tubercles and lacks ventrolateral rows. It has a middorsal and lateral, caudal furrows with tubercles in the latter. All subcaudal scales are keeled and there is a median row of slightly enlarged subcaudals. The caudal scales are arranged in segmented whorls with four or five scales per segment and the anterior, dorsal caudals are smooth, flat, and juxtaposed. PSUZC-RT 2010.52 and KZM 0 0 6 have weakly keeled, ventral scales as opposed to the smooth scales seen in the holotype. The paratypes have keeled subtibials as opposed to the smooth subtibials of the holotype.
Distribution. Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi sp. nov. is known only from the type locality at Petchphanomwat Waterfall, in Tai Rom Yen National Park, Kanchanadid District, Surat Thani Province and Tham Khao Sonk hill, Thachana District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (9°34’N 99°10’E), approximately 110 km to the north (Fig. 1).
Natural history. Tham Khao Sonk is a small hill approximately 5 m in elevation situated on the eastern coastline of Peninsular Thailand within the Isthmus of Kra. The basement rock of the hill is karst and its steep hillsides are forested. A single specimen of Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi sp. nov. was found on a vine near a limestone formation. At Petchphanomwat Waterfall, Tai Rom Yen National Park, C. kamolnorranathi sp. nov. were found on rocks near a stream between 17:30–20:00 hrs. Other lizards were observed on buildings near the stream, indicating this species’ wide range of substrate utilization. Paratype KMZ 0 0 6 was found at 20:30 hrs beneath a rock 30 m from the nearest stream. These observations suggest this species is a nocturnal rock dweller that may use other surfaces opportunistically.
Etymology. The specific epithet kamolnorranathi sp. nov., a masculine name in the genitive case, honors Dr. Sumate Kamolnorranath, Director of Research and Conservation Division, Zoological Park Organization of Thailand who supported Mr. Kirati’s herpetological surveys and research that resulted in the discovery of several new species.
Comparisons. Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi sp. nov. is most similar to C. chanardi sp. nov., C. siamensis, C. roticanai, and C. vandeventeri sp. nov. of Peninsular Thailand. Although Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi occurs in sympatry with C. siamensis and C. chanardi sp. nov., it is easily diagnosed from these species. Having precloacal pores and lacking dark, gular markings separates it from C. siamensis. Lacking a lightly colored, prescapular crescent and a series of transverse bars on the flanks and having transversely elongate as opposed to round, precloacal pores (Fig. 13) separates it from C. chanardi sp. nov.. Having transverse precloacal pores also separates it from all other pore-bearing species of Cnemaspis (TABLE 1) including C. vandeventeri sp. nov. and C. roticanai. Its small maximum SVL (37.8 mm) also separates it from the larger C. roticanai (SVL 47.0 mm) and C. vandeventeri sp. nov. (SVL 44.7 mm). Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi sp. nov. is easily diagnosed from all other species of Southeast Asian Cnemaspis on the basis of several aspects of squamation (TABLE 1).
Remarks. The relatively wide separation (~ 110 km) between the Petchphanomwat Waterfall and Tham Khao Sonk suggests there are probably undiscovered, geographically intervening populations of Cnemaspis kamolnorranathi sp. nov. in the appropriate habitat separating these two localities. Unlike other species of Cnemaspis, C. kamolnorranathi sp. nov. shows intrapopulational variation in the degree of keeling of the ventral and subtibial scales. Had this variation been interpopulational and of a discrete nature (i.e., present or absent) as opposed one of degree, we would have considered lineage separation. However, this variation occurs between three specimens (PSUZC-RT 2010.52, KZM 0 0 6 and CUMZ-R 2009,6,24-3: TABLE 5) which were syntopic at the Petchphanomwat Waterfall.
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 29-33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.275935