Wednesday, January 29, 2014

[Herpetology • 2009] Cnemaspis paripari | Fairy Rock Gecko • A New Species of Karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from western Sarawak, Borneo


Fairy Rock Gecko | Cnemaspis paripari
(upper:- male holotype) from Gua Pari-pari with original tail. (lower:- female) from Gua Angin with regenerated tail.
[Map of] Distribution in western Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Abstract
A new species of karst dwelling Cnemaspis is described from western Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Cnemaspis paripari sp. nov. is presumably endemic to the karst outcroppings which extend approximately 4.2 km between Gua Angin and Gua Pari-pari in the district of Bau. It is the only species of Southeast Asian Cnemaspis with a median, subcaudal row of bead-like scales and whose adult males have a bright yellow head and a bright yellow regenerated tail. Cnemaspis paripari sp. nov. differs markedly from the other three species of Bornean Cnemaspis in aspects of size, squamation, and coloration and its presence underscores the potential unrealized diversity of this genus in Borneo as compared to Peninsular Malaysia.
Key words: Cnemaspis paripari, Borneo, karst, new species, taxonomy


L. LEE GRISMER & CHAN KIN ONN. 2009. A New Species of Karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Sarawak, Borneo. Zootaxa. 2246: 21–31