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Type: Article
Published: 2021-04-28
Page range: 351–362
Abstract views: 297
PDF downloaded: 24

A new species of Dixonius (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Vientiane Capital, Laos

Faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management, Vietnam National University of Forestry, Xuan Mai, Chuong My, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management, Vietnam National University of Forestry, Xuan Mai, Chuong My, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Faculty of Forest Resources and Environmental Management, Vietnam National University of Forestry, Xuan Mai, Chuong My, Hanoi, Vietnam. Faculty of Forestry, National University of Laos, Dong Dok Campus, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Faculty of Biology, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 334 Nguyen Trai Road, Hanoi, Vietnam. Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, Vietnam
Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, Vietnam Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 334 Nguyen Trai Road, Hanoi, Vietnam. Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, New York 10024
AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Riehler Strasse 173, D–50735 Cologne, Germany. Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Strasse 47b, D–50674 Cologne, Germany.
Reptilia Dixonius somchanhae sp. nov. morphology molecular phylogeny taxonomy

Abstract

A new species of the gekkonid genus Dixonius is described from Huaysorn-Huaysua village, Nasaithong District, Vientiane Capital, Laos. The new species can be distinguished from all other species by a combination of the following characters: maximum SVL 47.1 mm; 19–21 longitudinal rows of dorsal tubercles at midbody; 23–26 longitudinal rows of ventrals across the abdomen; 7 or 8 supralabials, 6 in mid-orbital position; 5 or 6 infralabials; 5 or 6 precloacal pores in males, femoral pores lacking; precloacal and femoral pores absent in females; a canthal stripe running from rostrum through the eye and terminating at back of head; dorsum brown with irregular dark marks. In phylogenetic analyses, the species is recovered as the sister taxon to D. siamensis, which occurs in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Genetically, the two species are approximately 9.4% divergent from each other based on the complete mitochondrial ND2 gene with six partial or complete adjacent tRNAs. It is the 12th species known in the genus Dixonius and the second Dixonius species described from Laos.

 

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