Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 2396 No. 1: 11 Mar. 2010
Type: Articles
Published: 2010-03-11
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2396.1.3
Page range: 37–49
Abstract views: 72
PDF downloaded: 1

A new species of Gekko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from central Luzon Island, Philippines

Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Institute, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561, USA
Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Institute, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561, USA
National Museum of the Philippines, Rizal Park, Padre. Burgos Ave. Ermita 1000, Manila, Philippines
National Museum of the Philippines, Rizal Park, Padre. Burgos Ave. Ermita 1000, Manila, Philippines
Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Institute, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561, USA
Reptilia Biodiversity Endemism Faunal region Gekkonidae Limestone forest

Abstract

We describe a new species of gekkonid lizard, Gekko carusadensis, from low elevation, disturbed and secondary-growth forest in east-central Luzon Island, Philippines. Numerous features of its external morphology distinguish it from other congeners, including the presence of a distinct color pattern, body size, and a unique combination of scale counts. The new species has been found on karst outcrops and cave systems at low elevation. The new species typifies the rapidly expanding known diversity of Philippine gekkonid lizards, and is the third species in the genus to be described in the last three years.

References

  1. Brown, R.M. (1999) New species of parachute gecko (Squamata; Gekkonidae; Genus Ptychozoon) from northeastern Thailand and Central Vietnam. Copeia, 1999, 990–1001.

    Brown, R.M. & Diesmos, A.C. (2000) The lizard genus Luperosaurus: taxonomy, history, and conservation prospects for some of the world's rarest lizards. Sylvatrop: Technical Journal of Philippine Ecosystems and Natural Resources, 10, 107–124.

    Brown, R.M., Diesmos, A.C. & Duya, M.V. (2007) A new Luperosaurus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Sierra Madre of Luzon Island, Philippines. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 55, 167–174.

    Brown, R.M., Diesmos, A.C., Duya, M.V., Garcia, H.J.D., & Rico, E.L. (2010) A new forest gecko (Squamata; Gekkonidae; Genus Luperosaurus) from Mt. Mantalingajan, southern Palawan Island, Philippines. Journal of Herpetology 44:37–48.

    Brown, R.M., Oliveros, C., Siler, C.D., & Diesmos, A.C. (2009) Phylogeny of Gekko from the northern Philippines, and description of a new species from Calayan Island. Journal of Herpetology, 43, 620–635.

    Brown, R.M., Ferner, J.W. & Diesmos, A.C. (1997) Definition of the Philippine Parachute Gecko, Ptychozoon intermedium Taylor 1915 (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Gekkonidae): redescription, designation of a neotype, and comparisons with related species. Herpetologica, 53, 357–373.

    Brown, R.M., Oliveros, C., Siler, C.D. & Diesmos, A.C. (2008) A new Gekko from the Babuyan Islands, northern Philippines. Herpetologica, 64, 305–320.

    Brown, W.C. & Alcala, A.C. (1978) Philippine Lizards of the Family Gekkonidae. Silliman University Press, Dumaguete City, Philippines.

    Gaulke, M., Roesler, H. & Brown, R.M. (2007) A new species of Luperosaurus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Panay Island, Philippines, with comments on the taxonomic status of Luperosaurus cumingii (Gray, 1845). Copeia, 2007, 413–425.

    Kranjc, A. 1998. Kras [the classical karst] and the Development of Karst Science. Acta Carsologica, 9, 151–164.

    Kranjc. 2001. About the Name Kras (Karst) in Slovenia. Abstract for 13th International Congress of Speleology, Brasilia, Brazil.

    Leviton, A.E., Gibs, R.H., Jr., Heal, E. & Dawson, C.E. (1985) Standards in herpetology and ichthyology: Part I. Standard symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. Copeia, 1985, 802–821.

    Ota, H. & Crombie, R.I. (1989) A new lizard of the genus Lepidodactylus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from Batan Island, Philippines. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 102, 559–567.

    Ota, H., Lue, K.-Y., Chen, S.-H. & Brown, W.C. (1989) Taxonomic status of the Taiwanese Gekko, with comments on the synonymy of Luperosaurus amissus Taylor. Journal of Herpetology, 23, 76–78.

    Rösler, H., Siler, C.D., Brown, R.M., Demegillo, A.D. & Gaulke, M. (2006) Gekko ernstkelleri sp. n.—a new gekkonid lizard from Panay Island, Philippines. Salamandra, 42, 197–211.

    Siler, C.D., Oaks, J.R., Esselstyn, J.A., Diesmos, A.C., & Brown, R.M. (in press) Phylogeny and biogeography of Philippine bent-toed geckos (Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) contradict a prevailing model of Pleistocene diversification. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

    Taylor, E.H. (1922a) The Lizards of the Philippine Islands. Philippine Bureau of Science, Manila, Philippines.

    Taylor, E.H. (1922b) Additions to the herpetological fauna of the Philippine Islands, I. Philippine Journal of Science, 21,161–206.

    Welton, L.J., Siler, C.D., Diesmos, A.C. & Brown, R.M. (2009) A New Bent-Toed Gekko (Genus Cyrtodactylus) from Southern Palawan Island, Philippines. Herpetologica, 65, 328–343.

    Welton, L. J., Siler, C.D., Diesmos, A.C., & Brown, R.M. (in press) Phylogeny-based species delimitation of southern Philippine bent-toed geckos and a new cryptic species of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Zootaxa.