Acanthosaura cuongi NGO, LE, NGUYEN, NGUYEN, NGUYEN, PHAN, NGUYEN, ZIEGLER & DO, 2025
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Acanthosaura cuongi
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Acanthosaura cuongi NGO, LE, NGUYEN, NGUYEN, NGUYEN, PHAN, NGUYEN, ZIEGLER & DO 2025: 118 |
| Distribution | Vietnam (Phu Yen Province) Type locality: Phu Yen Province, Tay Hoa District; 312 m a.s.l., Vietnam. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: IEBR R.5250 (PY.2023.127), adult male; 22 May 2023; H.N. Ngo leg. Paratypes: VIETNAM • 3 ♂♂ adult; same locality as for holotype; Apr. 2022; N.N. Hai, D.T. Do and T.Q. Phan leg.; IEBR R.5259, 5260, 5261 (DTD.2, 375, 429) • 4 ♀♀ adult; same locality as for holotype; May 2022; same collectors as for preceding; IEBR R.5255, 5257, 5256, 5262 (PY.2023.120, 128, 130, 131), 4 ♀♀ adult; Khanh Hoa Province, Van Ninh District; 120–387 m a.s.l.; 27 May 2023; same collectors as for preceding; IEBR R.5251, 5258, 5252, 5253 (KH.2023.50, 51, 52, 61). Coordinates were recorded for each specimen and can be shared upon request to the authors to avoid abuse. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (n=12): Moderately-sized agamid lizard (SVL 79.40–87.06 mm in males, 85.69–104.61 mm in females); head triangular, relatively long (HL/SVL 0.27–0.31, HW/SVL 0.18–0.21), tail relatively long (TaL/SVL 1.44–1.51 in males and 1.09–1.38 in females), postorbital and occipital spines present; gular pouch undeveloped; 8–10 scales between nasals; four scales bordering mental scale; 10–13 supralabials; 10–13 infralabials; 5–7 scales bordering rostral scale; nuchal crest composed of 7–9 spines relatively high and one spine short; dorsal crest present, undeveloped; double rows of vertebral scales followed the dorsal crest; nuchal and dorsal crests continuous, filled with small spine scales; lateral scales small, intermixed with large, keeled scales, keels directed backward and back-upward; number of subdigital lamellae 14–17 on fourth finger and 19–23 on fourth toe (Table 3); black nuchal collar present; dorsum with black bands; a black patch extending from eye posteriorly to the anterior edge of tympanum. (Ngo et al. 2025) Comparisons: Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. armata (Gray, 1827), A. aurantiacrista Trivalairat et al., 2020, A. capra, A. cardamomensis, A. crucigera Boulenger, 1885, A. meridiona Trivalairat et al., 2022, A. murphyi, A. nataliae, A. phuketensis Pauwels et al., 2015 and A. tongbiguanensis Liu & Rao, 2019 by having a shorter body length (max snout-vent length: 104.61 vs 138 mm, 130 mm, 137.9 mm, 149 mm, 127 mm, 118.1 mm, 127.3 mm, 158 mm, 123.5 mm, 115.6 mm, respectively), shorter postorbital spines (0.4–1.49 vs 4.9–12 mm, 5.5–19.1 mm, 5.2–10.2 mm, 3.2–12.7 mm, 1.9–7.8 mm, 3.4–7 mm, 5.6–11.8 mm, 7.7–17.8 mm, 4.6–11.8 mm, 3.6–6.3 mm, respectively), shorter nuchal crest spines (1.63–2.66 mm vs 5.5–11.2 mm, 5.5–21.6 mm, 4.2–14.7 mm, 3.8–17.4 mm, 3.2–8.9 mm, 2.6–6.9 mm, 7–14.9 mm, 8.5–23.8 mm, 4.1–12.2 mm, 4–6.7 mm, respectively), shorter dorsal crest spines (0.6– 1.14 vs 4.9–11.3 mm, 2.4–8.7 mm, 3.5–6.8 mm, 2–14.2 mm, 2–5.5 mm, 1.4–3.9 mm, 2.6–10.5 mm, 6–17.7 mm, 2.3–8.3 mm, 2.4–4.2 mm, respectively), and the absence of a diastema between nuchal and dorsal crests (vs presence) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. bintangensis Wood et al., 2009 and A. titiwangsaensis Wood et al., 2009 by having a shorter body length (max snout-vent length: 104.61 vs 142 mm, 118.4 mm, respectively), fewer subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger (14–17 vs 23, 20–21, respectively) and on the fourth toe (19–23 vs 26–28, 23–27, respectively), fewer canthus rostralis scales (9–11 vs 14–15, 14–15, respectively), and the presence of light knee spot (vs absence) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. brachypoda by having a relatively longer postorbital spine (0.4–1.9 vs 3.2 mm), shorter nuchal crest spines (1.63–2.66 vs 4.7 mm), fewer ventral scales (51–60 vs 63), fewer subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger (14–17 vs 18) and on the fourth toe (19–23 vs 24), and the absence of a diastema between nuchal and dorsal crests (vs presence) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. coronata by having a longer body length (max snout-vent length: 104.61 vs 86.1 mm) and head length (23.34–31.1 vs 14.4–16.3 mm), the presence of dorsal crest spines, more subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe, fewer canthus rostralis scales (9–11 vs 12–15), fewer scales bordering the rostral scale (5–7 vs 9), and fewer scales between the nasal and the rostral (1 vs 3–4) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. lepidogaster by having a shorter orbit diameter (orbit/HL: 0.27–0.38 vs 0.4–0.57), shorter snout length (SL/HL: 0.29–0.39 vs 0.42–0.66), fewer subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger (14–17 vs 17–19), the absence of the diastema between nuchal and dorsal crests (vs presence), black patch extending from behind the eye backward and slightly upward to the anterior edge of tympanum (vs upward to through occipital spine to reach anterior edge of black nuchal collar) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. liui Liu et al., 2020 by having a shorter nuchal crest spines (1.63–2.66 vs 2.2–7.1 mm), a shorter dorsal crest spines (0.6–1.14 vs 2.7–3.7 mm), more nuchal crest scales (7–9 (1) vs 5–7), shorter occipital spine (1.24–2.54 vs 3.6–4.8 mm), fewer canthus rostralis scales (9–11 vs 12), fewer scales bordering the rostral scale (5–7 vs 8–9), fewer scales bordering the mental (4 vs 5–6), the absence of a diastema between nuchal and dorsal crests (vs presence) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. longicaudata Liu et al., 2022 by having more nuchal scales (7–9 (1) vs 6–7), fewer subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger (14–17 vs 17–19) and on the fourth toe (19–23 vs 22–25), fewer canthus rostralis scales (9–11 vs 11–13), fewer scales between the nasal and the rostral scales (1 vs 1–3), a black patch extending from behind the eye backward and slightly upward to the anterior edge of tympanum (vs upward to through occipital spine to reach anterior edge of black nuchal collar) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. phongdienensis by having a longer body length (79.4– 104.61 vs 58.5–77.4 mm), a longer head (23.34–31.1 vs 18.6–23.8 mm), a broader head (15.94–19.6 vs 13.1–15.9 mm), a shorter orbit diameter (orbit/HL: 0.27–0.38 vs 0.4–0.57), two rows of slightly low dagger-like vertebral spines (vs single row, black eye patch extending backward and slightly upward to the anterior edge of the tympanum vs upward to through occipital spine to reach anterior edge of black nuchal collar) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. prasina by having a longer body length (79.4–104.61 vs 79.8–88.4 mm), a longer head (23.34–31.1 vs 20.7–22.4 mm), fewer ventral scales (51–60 vs 59–63), fewer subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe (19–23 vs 23–26), more canthus rostralis scales (9–11 vs 5–6), scales of nuchal crest and vertebral scales light orange (vs white), and lips green (vs white) (Supp. file 2). Acanthosaura cuongi sp. nov. differs from A. rubrilabris Liu et al., 2022 by having shorter nuchal crest spines (1.63–2.66 vs 1.9–7.0 mm), more nuchal scales (7–9 (1) vs 3–6), fewer canthus rostralis scales (9– 11 vs 11–14), and the absence of a bright red pattern on upper and lower lips (vs presence) (Supp. file 2). (Ngo et al. 2025) |
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