Cyrtodactylus manos OLIVER, KARKKAINEN, RÖSLER & RICHARDS, 2019
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Cyrtodactylus manos
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| Higher Taxa | Gekkonidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Yellow-snouted bent-toed gecko |
| Synonym | Cyrtodactylus manos OLIVER, KARKKAINEN, RÖSLER & RICHARDS 2019 Cyrtodactylus sp. — RÖSLER et al. 2007: 207 Cyrtodactylus ‘Gobe Ridge’ — OLIVER et al. 2012: 439 Cyrtodactylus sp. ‘Gobe Ridge’ — TALLOWIN et al. 2018: 33 |
| Distribution | Papua New Guinea (Southern Highlands Province) Type locality: Papua New Guinea: Southern Highlands Province, road east of Gobe Ridge Camp, 855 m. a.s.l. (143.7743°E, 6.8145°S); |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. SAMA R62654 (Field number JCUNQ2462), adult female with partially regrown tail, with ethanol preserved tissue for genetic analysis stored in the Australian Biological Tissues Collection (under registration number ABTC98417), collected by Stephen Richards and Daniel Wemp on 29 October 2001. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other Melanesian Cyrtodactylus by its unique combination of: small size (SVL to 75 mm); narrow head (HW/SVL 0.17); ventrolateral fold scalation ho- mogeneous and lacking enlarged tubercles; forelimbs without tubercles; dorsal tubercles in 16–18 longitudinal rows at mid-body; ventral scales in approximately 46 longitudinal rows at mid-body; subcaudal scales not transversely widened or enlarged on original tail; largest precloacal scales roughly triangular and > 10 rows anterior to cloaca; enlarged femoral scales extending to knee, discontinuous with enlarged precloacals, ovoid and approximately twice as long as wide; and dorsal colour pattern on torso consisting of 11 dark-brown transverse irregularly-shaped dorsal bands or series of blotches (Fig. 1 in Oliver 2019). Comparisons. Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. can be distinguished from the ‘giant’ (maximum SVL > 126 mm: Oliver et al. 2014), Melanesian Cyrtodactylus in the C. loriae, C. louisiadensis and C. novaeguineae groups (sensu Tallowin et al. 2018) by the combination of its small adult size (SVL < 80 mm), dorsal pattern of numerous trans- verse dark markings (> 6 versus < 6), absence of enlarged tubercles on the ventrolateral folds (versus present), and absence of tubercles on the forelimbs (versus present and numerous). Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. further differs from members of the C. louisiadensis group in lacking transversely enlarged subcaudal scales (versus present), and from the C. novaeguineae species complex (sensu Oliver et al. 2016) by the absence (versus presence) of ventral tubercles on the throat and along the ventrolateral folds. Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. differs from both of the two remaining smaller species in the C. novaeguineae group (C. aaroni Günther and Rösler and C. mimikanus Boulenger) in its combination of smaller body size (maxi- mum SVL 75 mm versus 86.5 mm for C. aaroni and 103 mm for C. mimikanus), in lacking transversely widened subcaudal scales (versus present), in lacking enlarged tubercles on the ventrolateral fold (versus present), in lacking tubercles on the forelimbs (versus present), and in having a dorsal pattern of 11 dark-brown transverse irregularly- shaped dorsal bands or series of blotches (versus 7–10 relatively straight and largely unbroken brown bands bor- dered posteriorly by narrow to wide whitish margins). Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. also differs from the poorly known C. derongo Brown and Parker by the combination of smaller body size (maximum SVL 75 mm versus 112 mm), in having obvious ventrolateral folds (versus absent), in having ovoid enlarged femoral scales (versus subcir- cular), and in having a dorsal pattern in life of dark-brown transverse irregularly-shaped dorsal bands or series of blotches on a paler yellowish-brown ground colour (versus reddish-brown ground colouration with extensive small white blotches and maculations). Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. differs from C. sermowaiensis De Rooij in its smaller size (maximum SVL 75 mm versus 112 mm), in lacking enlarged tubercles on the ventrolateral folds (versus present), in lacking tubercles on the forelimbs (versus present), in having a narrower head (HW/SVL 0.17 versus 0.18–0.20), in possessing en- larged ovoid femoral scales (versus no enlarged femoral scales), a dorsal pattern of 11 thin dark-brown transverse irregularly-shaped bands or series of blotches (versus 5–6 irregular dark-brown dorsal bands or series of blotches alternating with less extensive brown interstitial bands), and snout colouration in life dark-brown overlain by yel- lowish blotches (versus light greyish-brown overlain with dark-brown blotches); from C. arcanus Oliver, Richards & Sistrom in its lower number of dorsal tubercle rows (16–18 versus 22–25), absence (versus presence) of tubercles on the forelimbs, and in lacking transversely widened subcaudal scales (versus present); and from C. minor Oliver & Richards in its narrower head (0.17 versus 0.20–0.21), contrasting dark-brown mottling on back of head (versus at most very indistinct fine medium-brown reticulations or maculations), snout with yellow (or light brown in preser- vative) spots contrasting against a dark-brown background (versus plain mid-brown), and largest precloacal scales often triangular and > 10 rows anterior to cloaca (versus always circular and < 10 rows anterior to cloaca) (Oliver & Richards 2012). Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. differs from C. boreoclivus Oliver, Krey, Mumpuni & Richards and C. medio- clivus Oliver, Richards & Sistrom by the combination of small size (maximum SVL 75 mm versus > 90 mm), narrower head (HW/SVL 0.17 versus 0.19–0.20), in lacking transversely enlarged subcaudal scales (versus present), in lacking enlarged tubercles on the ventrolateral folds (versus present), in lacking tubercles on the forelimbs (versus present) and in having a higher number of transverse bands of blotches on the dorsum (>5 versus <5); and from C. tanim Nielsen & Oliver by its smaller size (maximum SVL 75 mm versus > 90 mm), in lacking tubercles on the forelimbs (versus present), enlarged femoral scales ovoid and up to approximately double length of bordering scales (versus subcircular and always less than twice length of bordering scales), and dark-brown dorsal bands narrower and tending to be broken on posterior of dorsum (versus wider and generally unbroken for the length of the torso). Cyrtodactylus manos sp. nov. occurs in close proximity to two similarly sized and patterned Cyrtodactylus that are widespread in southern New Guinea. Of these, it differs from C. capreoloides Rösler, Richards & Günther in lacking enlarged tubercles along the ventrolateral folds (versus present), in having more ventral scales at midpoint of body (46 rows versus 31–39), and a higher number of brown bands or series of blotches extending from back of neck to cloaca (11 versus 5–6) (Oliver et al. 2012a); and from C. papuensis Brongersma by its larger size (maximum SVL 75 mm versus 67 mm), in lacking enlarged tubercles on the ventrolateral folds (versus present), in lacking tu- bercles on the forelimbs (versus present), in having enlarged ovoid femoral scales (versus subcircular), and having yellow spots across the snout in life (versus absent) (Rösler et al. 2007). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The Greek manos can mean rare, sparse or thin (for example in the context of gases), we here use it in reference to the paucity of material for this species. |
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