Ngo Van Tri

FOUR NEW SPECIES OF THE GEKKONID GENUS CNEMASPIS STRAUCH 1887 (REPTILIA: SQUAMATA) FROM SOUTHERN VIETNAM

Three new continental and one new insular species of the gekkonid genus Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 are described from southern Vietnam based on their unique combinations of morphological and color pattern characteristics. The presence of these species in small, isolated mountains in the Mekong Delta flood plain and on one of the many small islands in Rach Gia Bay indicates that additional new species are likely to occur in these and similar underexplored regions in southern Vietnam. The discovery of new species of Cnemaspis in southern Vietnam narrows a 630 km distribution gap across the Indochinese Peninsula to a hiatus of 315 km. This report demonstrates that continued systematic field research is necessary in southern Vietnam before its herpetofaunal biodiversity will be fully realized and effective conservation measures can be put into place to protect it.Three new continental and one new insular species of the gekkonid genus Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 are described from southern Vietnam based on their unique combinations of morphological and color pattern characteristics. The presence of these species in small, isolated mountains in the Mekong Delta flood plain and on one of the many small islands in Rach Gia Bay indicates that additional new species are likely to occur in these and similar underexplored regions in southern Vietnam. The discovery of new species of Cnemaspis in southern Vietnam narrows a 630 km distribution gap across the Indochinese Peninsula to a hiatus of 315 km. This report demonstrates that continued systematic field research is necessary in southern Vietnam before its herpetofaunal biodiversity will be fully realized and effective conservation measures can be put into place to protect it.

The systematics and independent evolution of cave ecomorphology in distantly related clades of Bent-toed Geckos (Genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827) from the Mekong Delta and islands in the Gulf of Thailand.

An integrative taxonomic analysis of the distantly related Cyrtodactylus condorensis and intermedius species complexes of the Mekong Delta revealed that C. paradoxus is a junior synonym of C. condorensis and that C. thochuensis is a junior synonym of C. leegrismeri. Additionally, the analysis revealed that a cave-dwelling ecomorpholgy has evolved independently early on in the evolution of both complexes (represented by C. hontreensis in the intermedius complex and C. grismeri and C. eisenmani in the condorensis complex) and cave ecomorphs exist in sympatry-but not syntopy-with general scansorial ecomorphs. Multiple, recent, cyclical, glacioeustatic driven changes in sea levels across the Sunda Shelf are hypothesized to account for the evolution and distribution of the widely separated, conspecific insular populations of C. condorensis and C. leegrismeri. The independent evolution of cave ecomorphology is proposed to have been driven by competition avoidance. Habitat islands across the Mekong Delta are an important source of endemism and in need of protection.

Cyrtodactylus dati , a new forest dwelling Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from southern Vietnam

A new species of Bent-toed Gecko, Cyrtodactylus dati sp. nov. is described from the secondary evergreen forests of Bu Dop District, Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam. It differs from all other species of Indochinese and Thai-Malay Cyrtodactylus by having a maximum SVL of 70.1 mm (n=6); no distinct dark blotches on the head in adults; no continuous nuchal loop; a blotched dorsal pattern; 17-19 interorbital scales across the frontal bone; 23-26 scales in a straight line between eye and nostril; 42-48 rows of ventral scales between ventrolateral folds; 20-22 irregular, longitudinal rows of keeled tubercles at midbody between the ventrolateral folds; a series of five or six precloacal pores medially interrupted by one poreless scale in males; three or four femoral pores on each thigh in males; 4-7 enlarged scales beneath thighs; 12-13 subdigital lamellae on first toe; 18-19 subdigital lamellae on fourth toe; and small subcaudal scales.

A new species of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Ba Na–Nui Chua Nature Reserve, Central Vietnam

A new species of the gekkonid Hemiphyllodactylus banaensis sp. nov. is described from Ba Na-Nui Chua Nature Reserve in central Vietnam. Previously included within H. yunnanensis, the new species is distinguished from all other congeners by having the unique combination of a maximum SVL of 48.2 mm in males and 51.0 mm in females; seven chin scales extending transversely from the union of the first and second infralabials and posterior margin of mental; enlarged postmental scales; 9-12 supralabials; 9-11 infralabials; 18-20 longitudinally arranged dorsal scales at midbody contained within one eye diameter; 20-21 precloacal and femoral pore-bearing scales contiguous in males and 0-20 contiguous pore-bearing precloacal scales in females; dorsal pattern on body composed of transverse blotches and two whitish stripes across shoulder extending to sacrum; postsacral mark whitish brown and bearing anteriorly projecting arms; and caecum and oviducts unpigmented.

Barcoding utility in a mega-diverse, cross-continental genus: keeping pace with Cyrtodactylus geckos

Over the past decade, DNA barcoding has become a staple of low-cost molecular systematic investigations. The availability of universal primers and subsidized sequencing projects (PolarBOL, SharkBOL, SpongeBOL) have driven this popularity, often without appropriate investigation into the utility of barcoding data for the taxonomic group of interest. Here, our primary aim is to determine the phylogenetic value of DNA barcoding (mitochondrial locus COI) within the gecko genus Cyrtodactylus. With >40 new species described since last systematic investigation, Cyrtodactylus represents one of the most diverse extant squamate genera, and their contemporary distribution spans the Indian subcontinent, eastward through Indochina, and into AustraloPapua. The complex biogeographic history of this group, and morphology-only designation of many species have complicated our phylogenetic understanding of Cyrtodactylus. To highlight the need for continued inclusive molecular assessment, we use Vietnamese Cyrtodactylus as a case study showing the geopolitically paraphyletic nature of their history. We compare COI to the legacy marker ND2, and discuss the value of COI as an interspecific marker, as well as its shortcomings at deeper evolutionary scales. We draw attention back to the Cold Code as a subsidized method for incorporating molecular methods into species descriptions in the effort to maintain accurate phylogenies.