Integrative Taxonomy Revealed High Diversity of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) and the Description of Three New Species from Yunnan Province, China
by
, and
Hongxin Zhou
1,2, 
Xiuyan Li
1,
Chaoying Yuan
3,
Liangwei Cui
2,
Shuo Liu
1,4,* and
Dingqi Rao
1,* 1
Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
2
Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education Faculty of Biodiversity and Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
3
School of Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
4
Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2024, 14(20), 3030; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14203030
Submission received: 23 September 2024
/
Revised: 11 October 2024
/
Accepted: 14 October 2024
/
Published: 19 October 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Herpetology)
Simple Summary
The Hemiphyllodactylus is a small gecko. Recently, many species belonging to the genus Hemiphyllodactylus have been discovered in the karst region. Therefore, we conducted a large scale of surveys and specimen collections in multiple karst areas of Yunnan Province. Three populations of Hemiphyllodactylus were found to be morphologically and molecularly distinct from known species, prompting us to describe them as three new species. Our study further illustrates the high diversity of Hemiphyllodactylus species within Yunnan Province.
Abstract
The karst landform in Yunnan Province, China, represents one of the most biodiverse regions for Hemiphyllodactylus. Previous research has revealed that the karst forests in this province host a greater diversity of Hemiphyllodactylus than previously acknowledged. However, substantial fundamental data essential for taxonomic and biogeographical studies are lacking. We conducted extensive surveys for Hemiphyllodactylus in the Yunnan Province that led to the discovery of three new species from Menglian Dai, Lahu, and Wa Autonomous County and Jinghong City based on morphological and genetic data. A phylogenetic reconstruction based on the ND2 gene (1038 bp) placed the three new species into clade 3 and clade 4 of Agung et al. The uncorrected genetic pairwise distance of the Menglian specimens were greater than 5.7%, and those of the Jinghong City specimens were greater than 5.2% and 8.5%, respectively. They could be distinguished from their congeners by body size, chin scales, internasal scales, ventral scales, dorsal scales, and the total number of femoral and precloacal pores. Furthermore, we update the distributional knowledge of the known species.
Keywords:
cryptic species; discovery; karst; slender geckos; South China
