Gekko ichangensis CAO, SUCHARITAKUL, TIE, SUWANNAPOOM, FAN & CHOMDEJ, 2025
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Gekko ichangensis
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Yichang gecko Chinese: 宜昌 壁虎 (yí chāng bì hǔ) |
| Synonym | Gekko ichangensis CAO, SUCHARITAKUL, TIE, SUWANNAPOOM, FAN & CHOMDEJ 2025: 114 |
| Distribution | China (Hubei) Type locality: Muqiao Creek Village (30.64023° N, 110.97657° E; elevation 228.5 m a.s.l.), Gaojiayan Town, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, Yichang City, Hubei Province, China |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: SWU 0011602 (Figure 2), adult male, collected at night on 22 May 2024 by Jing CAO. Paratype Six specimens SWU 0011603–608 (three adult males and three adult females, Table 4) were collected by Jing CAO and Minhua TIE in the same place and during the same time as the holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Gekko (Japonigekko) ichangensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all congeners in the subgenus Japonigekko through the following set of morphological characteristics: (1) moderate body size, SVL 58.5–64.3 mm and 62.9–66.5 mm in the adult males and females respectively; (2) nares touching the rostral, 1–2 internasals; (3) tubercles distributed on the head, dorsum, limbs, and tail, except the upper forelimbs; (4) ventral scales between the mental and cloacal slit numbering 174–195; (5) 39–47 ventral scale rows; (6) 10–12 dorsal tubercle rows; (7) subdigital lamellae on first fingers numbering 11–13, on the fourth fingers 12–16, on the first toes numbering 12–15, on the fourth toes 13–18, with interdigital webbing weakly developed; (8) 5–8 precloacal pores in the males; (9) tail base with three postcloacal tubercles on each side; (10) dorsum brown, with six broad, irregular dark-brown bands extending from the nape to the sacrum. Description of holotype An adult male with a total length of 129.4 mm (SVL 64.3 mm, TaL 65.1 mm); tail length nearly equal to snout-vent length (TaL/SVL ratio, 101.2%). Head relatively elongated (HL/SVL ratio, 27.4%), noticeably longer than width (HL/HW ratio, 137.5%), depressed (HH/HL ratio, 35.8%), and clearly separated from the neck. Rostral shape approximately rectangular, with a width nearly twice its height (RW/RH ratio, 182.3%), and wider than the mental scale (RW/ MW ratio, 129.2%). Nostril suborbicular, each encircled by the rostral, supranasal, first supralabial and two postnasal scales, with the posterior nasal region shallowly concave. Supranasal significantly larger than postnasal; two supranasals separated by 1–2 internasals. Preorbitals 15/15, preorbital area deeply concave. Eye relatively large (ED/HL ratio, 19.3%), pupil vertical, featuring crenulated edges. Interorbital scales in the area between the anterior corners of the eyes number 36. Elliptical ear opening, obliquely orientated, and moderately sized (EOD/ED ratio, 29.4%). Mental pentagonal, width markedly greater than length (MW/ML ratio, 184.6%). Two postmentals, pentagonal and hexagonal (L/R), enlarged, nearly twice the length of its width, in contact with the mental and first infralabial on both sides, and four gular scales located posteriorly. Supralabials 10/10, infralabials 11/11. Tubercles on the head more prominent in the temporal region than elsewhere. Body slender, trunk of greater length (AG/SVL ratio, 44.8%). Tubercles 3–4 times larger than dorsal scales, flattened, oval or conical in shape, and each encircled by 8–10 scales. Dorsal tubercles extend from the occipital zone to the base of tail, arranged in 11 irregular spaced rows along the midbody. Lateral fold poorly developed, lacking tubercles. Dorsal scales granular, smooth, and either round or oval, arranged side by side. Ventral scales noticeably larger than dorsal scales, smooth and overlapping like roof tiles, with the largest ones located in the central part of the belly. The ventral scale rows at midbody total 46, while the overall scale rows around the midbody, including ventrals, reaches 142. Ventral scales arranged in a row between the mental scale and cloacal opening number 195. Precloacal scales enlarged, but enlarged femoral scales are absent. Precloacal pores number 8 (4 + 4), separated by one scale in the middle. Both forelimbs and hindlimbs well- developed, and tubercles present on the limbs except the upper forelimbs. Digits mediumly enlarged, with claws present on fingers II–V and toes II–V. Weakly developed webbing present on the fingers and toes. The subdigital lamellae, undivided, beneath the manus 13–12–13–16–13 (left) and 13–12–14–14–13 (right), and under the pes 13–11–14–15– 13 (left) and 13–12–15–16–15 (right). Relative finger lengths: IV>III>V>II>I.Relative toe lengths: IV>III>V>II>I. Original tail length almost equal to body (TaL/SVL ratio, 101.2%), distinctly swollen at base in males. Tubercles on the dorsal tail are present only at base and a small segment of the forepart, arranged randomly. Postcloacal tubercle 3/3, significantly larger in males than in females. Dorsal tail scales small, flat, and smooth. Subcaudals enlarged, forming a single median row, smooth and arranged in an imbricate pattern. (Cao et al. 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 7413 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
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